Campaign Phone
9419933245
I'm running to continue to represent the residents of the city of Sarasota in the development process as we grow. I have been, and will remain, a strong advocate for our residents. I am very active in the Florida League of Cities, and was awarded Home Rule Hero by the League eight years running. I currently serve on a number of boards serving community interests.
Prior to being elected City Commissioner, I was president of my neighborhood association for 12 years. I served for six years on the City’s Planning Board before running for City Commissioner. I spent part of my childhood living in Sarasota, graduating from high school here. I moved back in 1996 with my young family. I understand where Sarasota came from, and where it’s going.
Our current density bonus program should be re-examined. I have a number of proposed changes to the program, including increasing developer required contribution levels, and lowering our density bonus giveaway level. We need the program to reach middle-income residents who earn too much for the lowest-income housing programs but too little for market-rate rents. The density bonus incentives for affordable housing should not be done administratively, without the input of the Commission. These changes will help create real affordable housing in the city of Sarasota.
The city of Sarasota has been a leader in helping the unhoused population. We reduced our homeless population by over 80% in the last ten years through working with the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness to create a coordinated system of entry to help our unhoused residents get the care that they need and place them in permanent supportive housing. I support the city’s continued efforts with this consortium of local organizations making such great strides, and our police department’s outreach team and specific training for unhoused folks in the city of Sarasota.
Our two biggest challenges both come from the state overriding local control. First is our revenue. A proposed constitutional amendment would cut the property tax dollars that fund our local services. As a sitting commissioner, I may educate on this ballot measure but not advocate*, so I will ready the city for either outcome by budgeting for both and protecting our core services.
Second is our development. SB 180 bars us from adopting stronger rules, including stormwater protections, and the Live Local Act removes public hearings on major projects whose capped rents exceed market rate here in Sarasota. I will fight these preemptions through the Florida League of Cities and use every local tool that remains.
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* (Per Statute 106.113)
Working with my fellow commissioners, the city has protected Bobby Jones, our largest green space, in perpetuity. I collaborated with the county and state, along with Big Waters, on the first conservation easement for the 261-acre public land. The wetlands at Bobby Jones filter billions of gallons of stormwater before it reaches Sarasota Bay. Funded by local, state, federal, and Special District dollars, this protection means Bobby Jones remains a free public green space for all future generations.
Other examples of advocacy include: $12M in funding for Whitaker and Hudson Bayous, $1M for sidewalk connectivity in Newtown, and $13M for St. Armand’s stormwater. Importantly, I work daily to connect residents to the city services they need.
I am running to give a voice back to the residents in city hall as I feel our voice has been stifled over the past few years. Professionally, I have worked in bookkeeping, law office administration, advertising sales, and human resources, giving me a practical grasp of budgets, contracts, and operations.
Currently I am a self employed personal trainer. I'm a long-distance runner, triathlete, and 4-time Boston Marathon finisher. I will apply the same discipline to public service.
For over a decade, I've been speaking on issues like flooding, overdevelopment, traffic, tree protection, and affordable housing.
I am the President of the Arlington Park neighborhood and had to resign as 2nd VP of the Coalition of City Neighborhood Association.
I recently wrote a guest column in the Herald Tribune on this issue. I want to roll back the 4X density bonus that we gave to the developers for 15% affordable housing. Nowhere in the state does that exist. Everywhere else gave double density for 25%. That's what we should have. I also feel the Annual Medium Income (AMI) percentage we are targeting is too high. 120% AMI is supplementing someone making a 6-figure salary. That will not fix our affordable housing crisis. We need to be targeting 80% AMI and lower. There are developers that build affordable housing. We need to be talking with them.
The Sarasota Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team (HOT)
helps those experiencing homelessness by providing viable alternatives to homelessness. Over the past 10 years we have reduced the number of homeless from over 1,000 to under 300. The program has been successful! The team conducts outreach, provides case management, applies for vouchers through Housing Authority, beds at The Salvation Army, and referrals to other local agencies. These efforts have proven to be effective and as a commissioner it will be my job to make sure this program is well funded and expanded as necessary.
Because of the 2024 storm season, our budget is underfunded. Our reserves are usually between 20-25% and now they are under 10% at $13.7 million. In 2022 our reserves were $35.5 million. We're also not sure what is happening with property taxes. The good news is it's not a total elimination. Our general fund is 51% funded by property taxes. The budget workshop is soon, and the commission is going to have to be creative. Other than affordable housing, which was answered above, neighborhood safety and infrastructure issues are a top priority. Attending CCNA meetings over the years this is a topic of discussion at every meeting. I understand that money is tight, but we need to figure out how we give money back to the neighborhoods.
I have worked with my neighborhood and other neighborhoods on development projects we felt were not compatible. I organized neighbors to go to community workshops, speak at planning board and commission meetings. We also created petitions to show support. Some were succuessful, others weren't. I saved a 230 year old grand oak tree from a developer's axe in my neighborhood. With the help of city staff, neighbors and Commissioner Ahearn-Koch, we saved the tree we nicknamed Pink Floyd. I tell that story because that experience taught me when we work together, we can keep what matters. As a CCNA board member, I chaired the Protect our Parks committee. We worked with city staff on rezoning the parks and creating a special parks district.
Before deciding to run, I embarked on a 45-day listening tour of our residents. What I heard was painful and consistent: too many citizens feel ignored by City Hall. The people deserve a commissioner who listens, respects their concerns, and brings practical, evidence-based judgment to difficult decisions. Missteps with downtown density bonus, misguided affordable housing initiatives and ignoring our city’s maintenance have left Sarasota in what citizens describe as a real mess! My real estate career gives me deep land-use experience, and my nonprofit and advisory board service prepared me to serve responsibly and effectively.
After 52 years living in and loving Sarasota, I will fight to protect our environment, historic heritage, and arts.
I support reviewing the City’s affordable housing density bonus program to determine if the 15% of bonus units as affordable may be strengthened.
The Affordable Housing Trust Fund should be supported through an advisory board that identifies per-unit subsidy needs, works with philanthropy, and recommends grant guidelines for missing-middle housing.
I oppose the City acting as a developer or waiving fees and approvals when those steps provide little savings and shift costs to taxpayers.
The Sarasota Housing Authority should continue serving vulnerable residents through federally funded programs
The plight of the unhoused population is a tragedy requiring compassion. The City should strengthen its partnership with The Salvation Army, Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness, and other nonprofits that specialize in outreach, employment counseling, transitional housing, treatment, and case management for the unhoused.
A practical strategy should combine Homeless Outreach Teams, coordinated entry through OneBy1, rapid rehousing, supportive services, and Community Care Court to connect people with shelter, detox, treatment, transportation, and employment help.
Sarasota’s two biggest issues are fiscal responsibility and failure to listen to citizens. The City must spend efficiently, treat every tax dollar as a public trust, and avoid costly projects—like the 1st Street affordable housing proposal—without clear benefits or full public accountability.
The downtown density bonus showed what happens when public concerns are ignored: a broad ordinance replaced targeted, sunset-based bonuses. Concerned citizens spoke against this and were ignored. As commissioner, I will listen carefully, question major spending, and support safeguards so ordinances can be reviewed, amended, or ended if they do not serve Sarasota.
I served as chairman of the City Community Redevelopment Advisory Board. This was a critical program for the administration of funds generated by the Downtown TIFF. Carefully allocating funds to needed areas with quantifiable goals was my charge as chairman and helped create the infrastructure for a vibrant downtown.
As with any board that recommended distribution of funds, there was intense scrutiny and occasional controversy regarding targeted projects.
I volunteered for and served on the County’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands board during its initial layout of the voter-initiated mileage increase for ESL and as a board member recommending targeted lands to be purchased. The program has been very successful after overcoming obstacles.
I am running for City Commission to put residents back in charge of City Hall.
Too many decisions are being made without consideration for or input from the people who live, work, and pay taxes here.
Residents are disillusioned with politicians' polished messages and empty promises, and watching well-connected outsiders steering the future of our city.
I am not a politician. I am an engineer with 20 years of experience solving complex problems through systems thinking, servant leadership, data-driven decisions, and measurable results.
Together, we will address overdevelopment, aging infrastructure, and fiscal irresponsibility. We'll ensure City Hall answers to Sarasota residents—not the other way around.
How can I represent you?
Sarasota has become unaffordable because special interests were allowed to shape growth for years while the needs of working residents were pushed aside. We'll take a pragmatic, multi-pronged approach: create meaningful incentives for actually affordable workforce housing; improve transportation options connecting affordable areas of the county to jobs in the city (e.g south sarasota is a 15 minute commute); steer investment toward neighborhoods that have been largely ignored (why does north city look like it did 20 years ago?). Every Sarasotan deserves Sarasota quality of living and services.
Everyone deserves to live in dignity. We should incentivize actions and measure our success based on recovery and reintegration into society, rather than managing the symptoms.
Currently there are non-profit organizations with expertise in this space, such as The Salvation Army, Second Heart Homes, and various churches. We will partner with such experts who can show sustainable results and ensure transparency. The city also has outreach programs, and compassionate enforcement of ordinances to ensure quality of life for all residents.
The two most significant issues facing the city are fundamental in nature.
The first is our city government diverging from its own City Charter - vital services and home rule.
The Commission has become numb to residents' input, and a rubber stamp to a menu of bureaucracy and outsiders. Simple things like parking, sidewalks, and balancing a budget are an afterthought. I will anchor my decisions on accountability to the residents and Charter.
The second is a loss of city character. Unchecked development, short time horizon in the commission's vision, and lack of residents engagement (because of feeling ignored not unwilling), has allowed the Sarasota charm to wither away. I will involve, inform, and empower you via technology and outreach.
I have listened to residents at neighborhood association meetings, casual coffee conversation and social media, and see that most people care about the same things - livability, affordability, and density. I have spoken about those issues at Commission meetings, directly with commissioners, city attorneys, and other staff. This is also how I observed the dynamics of the commission in action. We deserve real representation, outlook for our future, and collective self determination. I am not just trying to represent you - I am you. Let's take a seat at the commission table together.
I'm running for City Commission because I feel the city needs a vision to move forward. There is also a lack of efficiency and financial responsibility of tax payer dollars. As the position is a Commission Manager role, I have extensive senior management experience as the Director of Security and Safety at The Guggenheim Museum in NYC, where I spent 15 years and was in charge of the largest department with over 100 direct report employees. I was directly responsible for the protection of over 1 million annual visitors. I ensured the Guggenheim adhered to all NYC building codes, fire safety codes, OSHA and ADA compliance.
As the PRO-BONO Security/Safety consultant for Selby Gardens I have studied the land use and building codes of Sarasota.
I support mixed use occupancy, industry specific housing, density bonuses in exchange for affordable units, and a more streamlined application process for housing proposals for our city's workers (including, putting these proposals first on the city's agenda and reducing redundancies in the overall application process to lower impact fees). Said proposals also need to aim for 60% or lower of the Sarasota AMI
The city has been doing a good job of addressing the unhoused population. Recently the number of unhoused was estimated to be around 88 (down from around 400 just a few years ago). The city should continue working with the Sarasota Housing Authority and with non-profits like Second Heart Homes.
One of the top issues in our city is a lack of housing for our workers, as I mentioned above. Beyond that, a significant issue is the need for resilient infrastructure. The hurricanes of 2024 hit the city hard and we need to build back with resilient materials and plans. Most at risk is St. Armands Circle which is sitting below sea level. I would work with the county, state and Army Corp of Engineers to raise the Circle, and include storm water treatment vaults. One more significant city issue is the lack of fiscal responsibility. Two examples of this are the $675,000 spent for final drawings for the Bobby Jones Club House project, which was scrapped for a new design. The other is the $50,000 spent for initial scrapped City Manager search.
I testified before the City about the positive impact that the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition's Museum project would have on the Newtown Community and the City as a whole. I participated in City workshops involving the future vision for St. Armands Circle, Citywide Traffic Calming measures , and plans for a reimagined Main Street.
