Sarasota Charter Review Board

As a group of diverse candidates for the Sarasota County Charter Review Board struggled to pare their platforms to three minutes at a Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations forum Monday, they managed to find common ground: The government entity is more important than people realize.

The often overlooked, unpaid elected body consists of 10 members, who meet only four times per year. The board is charged with reviewing or proposing changes to the Sarasota County charter. Members are elected countywide and serve staggered four-year terms (five seats are open every two years), overseeing what most candidates have dubbed “the constitution” of the county.

The charter contains guidelines for local elections, outlines the powers of public officials and guides development rules. For example, the charter requires a supermajority vote from county commissioners to increase the density or intensity of land use.

A handful of candidates pitched plans Monday such as proposing single-member districts for the County Commission, adding the phrase “quality of life” to the charter or pushing for more development checks in the charter. Others, such as District 5 candidate Bruce Dillon, vowed to protect the charter as is.

Generally, candidates fall into either of the two categories: striving to maintain the status quo or approaching the election ready to propose changes to the charter.

Editor’s note: We asked candidates to give a number from 1 to 5 to characterize where they fall on the spectrum. A “1” represents a candidate who will fight to keep the charter in its current state; a “5” is a candidate who will advocate to change the charter.

The following graphic illustrates the spectrum: