Who will be new leaders?

It takes a lot for Longboat Key voters to break from the norm. That was certainly evident again in last week’s town elections. Indeed, it’s almost a written rule that Longboat voters re-elect their Town Commission incumbents. 

Oh, there have been a few instances in recent memory — Gene Jaleski defeating incumbent Randy Clair in 2009; Lynn Larson over incumbent Lee Rothenberg in 2010, to name two. Those have occurred at times when Longboaters feel the commission is becoming too “clubby”-like or when an incumbent shows inclinations to be OK with spending or increasing the reach of town government.

So it was no surprise to see the outcome of the three Town Commission races last week, or the overwhelming support for extending the 1-mill school tax in the Sarasota County half of the Key. As always, voters in the Manatee County half of Longboat skew more conservatively on taxes; so, likewise, you could have predicted Manatee’s new 1-mill school tax results would be closer (51%-48% Manatee; 78%-21% Sarasota).

In two of the commission races, the results proved again the power of incumbency and of serving on the town’s Planning and Zoning Board as the traditional pathway for a seat on the commission. Incumbent at-large Commissioner Irwin Pastor, a resident of L’Ambiance on the south end, won 71% of the vote against his lesser known opponent, Jack Wilson. And Ken Schneier, in his first Town Commission race, had served four years on the planning board and two on the Zoning Board of Adjustment, whereas his opponent, John Weber, made his debut on the town’s public scene.

RESULTS SEND MESSAGE

The third race, however — that between incumbent Commissioner Ed Zunz and first-time candidate Randy Langley — rocked town traditions. As we all watched, that race was so not much mano-a-mano; it was more Langley versus the Town Commission Establishment, or as was sometimes invoked, Langley versus the “good ol’ boys.” Likewise, a contingent of Langley opponents flipped it back at him, turning that race into a referendum on Langley’s character and 30-year past.

We won’t recount the unusual (for Longboat) campaign tactics. More important is to interpret the results as sending a message that is gurgling and bubbling in the town’s political soup: A desire for an injection of new energy and a younger generation of leadership on the Town Commission.

This is not to disparage the incumbent commissioners. But because of the demographics of the Key (half the population is 70 years and older), the commission rarely has a member in his or her 50s. Prior to last week’s election, all of the commissioners were in their 70s. Zunz is 81.

With age, of course, comes wisdom. And to be sure, over the years Longboat Key’s 70-year-old-plus commissioners have served the town extraordinarily well — especially when you compare the decision making to other municipalities’ elected leaders. Former Town Manager David Bullock commented on numerous occasions how impressed he was with the caliber, smarts and dedication of Longboat’s commissioners.

Nevertheless, Longboat Key has experienced periods when it appears its Town Commission members never change. The same faces (Notice: We didn’t say “old faces.”) always seem to be at the dais. That occurred this past cycle because of three commissioners — George Spoll, Jim Brown and Clair.

THE SAME FACES

Clair served from 2005 to 2009, losing after his second term to Jaleski. The commission appointed him to fill the District 1 seat for his second go-round in March 2017 after Armando Linde resigned. 

Brown served his six-year limit on the commission from 2009 through 2014, with four of those years as mayor, a role that gave him a high profile. After term limits, he went back to the town’s Planning & Zoning Board, and then in 2017, he ran and beat Jaleski overwhelmingly in town elections.

Spoll previously served on the commission from December 2004 to 2010. After that, he remained visible in commission and town affairs as chair of the Longboat Key Revitalization Task Force, a group of concerned citizens. He was appointed to the commission at the end of 2016, when then-Mayor Jack Duncan resigned for heath reasons. In 2017, Spoll won his District 2 seat running unopposed. And now, here he is, as of Tuesday, beginning his second time as mayor. 

You can give Clair, Brown and Spoll this: They do care about the town. But with their second times around they fuel the perception the commission is just a revolving door of the same “good ol’ boy” club. Spoll’s election as mayor Tuesday night put an exclamation point on that.

This is a challenge for the Key: the same faces and a lack of citizens willing to serve on the Town Commission.

It’s not surprising people don’t want to serve. Most people come to Longboat Key to unwind from their public and professional lives. What’s more, not many relish public financial disclosures or campaigning. Commissioner Zunz, who ran in his first election with an opponent, told us of his dislike and discomfort having to campaign and, even worse, ask people for contributions. “I’m not a politician,” said Zunz, a career lawyer.

GENERATIONAL CHANGE

But the thin ranks of Longboat residents who get involved on the town’s boards and the Town Commission are concerning. Especially now.

Why now? Because Longboat is undergoing a generational transition, and it needs the next generation to take on leadership roles for the town’s future. You can say newly elected Commissioner Ken Schneier, at age 65, represents the next generation. And so does Langley, 51. But Longboat needs more like them — especially women; 10 women have served on the commission in six decades.

Langley said he expects to run for the Town Commission again. We hope he does. Or even before then, perhaps commissioners would appoint him to the Planning and Zoning Board, or assign him to lead a task force to rewrite, once and for all, the town’s zoning codes. That would be the Longboat way, and a way for Langley to earn the voters’ trust.

For now, Longboat Key is in good hands with the commissioners. They made history: Three of them, plus outgoing Mayor Terry Gans, gave voters the opportunity to approve underground utility lines; they initiated efforts for a new arts, education and cultural center; and approved plans for the long-awaited Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.

The next few commissions will face similar crucial issues: persuading county and state officials to put all of Longboat Key in Sarasota County; rewriting and enacting new town codes that will allow for appropriate redevelopment of the Key’s aging condos and nonconforming properties; and approving an appropriate redevelopment and expansion of the Longboat Key Club and Resort.

It would serve the town and taxpayers well to have a new generation of leaders carry on the wise decision making that has characterized Longboat Key’s Town Commissions for the past 63 years.