Former Commissioner Turner files to run for city seat

Terry Turner, a city commissioner in Sarasota from 2009 to 2013, announced on Friday his intention to run for the District 2 seat in elections coming next summer and fall.

Turner filed to run against Jerry Michael Wells in the seat currently held by Mayor Liz Alpert.

In addition to his four years on the City Commission, Turner represented Sarasota on the Metropolitan Planning Commission. He also served on the Sarasota Planning Commission, the Sarasota County Committee for Economic Development and the Sarasota County Environmentally Sensitive Lands Committee.

Turner’s professional background is in finance, receiving an MBA from University of Rochester and a Ph.D in economics from Carnegie-Mellon. He’s taught finance at Cal-Berkeley.

“Sarasota’s citizens feel their interests are not being represented by the current District 2 City Commissioner,’’ he said in a statement. “I agree with them, and that is why I am running to represent the citizens of Sarasota’s District 2. I support fiscal responsibility, and preserving our neighborhoods and the environment.”

Elections for the three district seats on the City Commission will occur in 2020 after voters approved a referendum to move municipal election dates to coincide with state and federal elections. If more than two candidates are up for a seat, a first election will be set for August, with two candidates emerging to a second election in November.