Younger to seek third and final term for commission

Phill Younger qualified Sept. 10 to run for his third and final term on the Longboat Key Town Commission, making him the first candidate to announce he will run in the town’s March election.

Younger, 68, has held one of two at-large seats on the commission for more than four years. He says he enjoys being part of a nonpartisan group of government officials who can work together, even though they might not always agree.

“This commission has proven to be very rationale,” he said. “But all of us bring something different to the table.”

However, Younger says there are still plenty of things they need to accomplish.

“We still need to get the town parks developed, and I have pushed for that the whole time I have been in office,” he said.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Younger served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and went on to spend 32 years working for Delta Airlines. As both an engineer and attorney, he worked in various positions with Delta with an emphasis in finance, before ending his career in management.

In his time on the commission, Younger was a driving force behind the town’s pension reform for town employees.

“I’ve always been very fiscally conservative, and I would like to maintain the fiscal controls that we have and make sure that we are prudent with our financial end of the business,” he said.

He said with hot topic union contracts coming back up soon, he wants the commission to be able to maintain fiscal control.

“Any time you get into union contract negotiations there is always the danger that they will fall apart,” he added.

Younger has also been a leading force in the town’s beach management plan and ensuring that its restructuring is done in a fiscally prudent manner.

Other seats that will be open in March are the District 2 and 4 seats currently held by Mayor Jim Brown and Vice Mayor Jack Duncan, respectively. Brown will exit the dais in March because of term limits, and Duncan has decided not to run for his seat for another term. 

Younger and his wife, Fanny, first purchased a home on Longboat Key in 1987 in Country Club Shores and now live in the Bayou.

In his time on the Key, Younger has been active in local government as a member of the town’s Code Enforcement Board, Planning and Zoning Board and the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Board.

Election dates
Typically, the town holds elections on the third Tuesday in March — March 17 for 2015 — however, the town’s charter allows it to coordinate with either Sarasota or Manatee County to hold its election in conjunction with any county-administered election.

Because Sarasota County elections are scheduled for March 10, 2015, the town is seeking to hold its election on that date as well.

The commission reached consensus to forward an ordinance establishing March 10, 2015 as its election date to its Oct. 6 regular meeting.