Monday, May 20, 2013
Did voters get it right by electing Suzanne Atwell and Susan Chapman? Here's what some Patch readers had to say.
Victories by Suzanne Atwell and Susan Chapman in last week's city commission runoff election brought out some pretty strong opinions from Sarasota Patch readers. We asked them if they were happy with the results. Here's a sampling of the responses: ava whaley: "Susan Chapman is a defender of what we love about Sarasota. She will balance 'progress, prosperity and property preservation.' I'm happy she won." BillyRay: "No I'm not happy. The voters are clueless and this will cost them lots of tax dollars." Linda Whitten Makowsky: "Very happy! Those 'little old white-haired ladies' must have voted!" Suzette Jones: "I feel sorry for the city... I have one manufacturing company and one corporate HQ client who won't even consider the city now to (…
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Suzanne Atwell and Susan Chapman were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday's runoff election in Sarasota, edging Richard Dorfman. Are you happy with the results?
Suzanne Atwell and Susan Chapman won seats on the Sarasota City Commission, according to unofficial results from Tuesday's runoff election. The two Democrats were the two top vote-getters, with Atwell taking 38 percent of the vote and Chapman 33 percent after all 18 precincts reported. Republican Richard Dorfman won 28 percent of the vote. Voter turnout was nearly 20 percent for Tuesday's runoff, higher than the 17 percent for the March general election, in which none of the six original candidates for the two seats received a majority of the vote. Atwell, an incumbent, has served as Sarasota's mayor for two of her four years on the commission. This will be the first term for Chapman, who has served as chairwoman of the City of Sarasota …
Monday, May 13, 2013
Three candidates are on the ballot Tuesday with two seats on the Sarasota City Commission up for grabs.
Three candidates will vie for two spots on the Sarasota City Commission in Tuesday's runoff election. No candidate received the majority of the vote in March's general election, meaning the top three vote-getters are on the ballot again Tuesday, May 14. They are (click the links to read profiles of each candidate): Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Use the precinct finder on the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections website to find your designated polling place. You can also view a sample ballot, although it's pretty straightforward: Voters may select up to two of the three candidates. The top two will win seats on the city commission and begin a four-year term starting May 17. Who are you supporting and why? Post a comment …
Patch profiles the three candidates in Tuesday's runoff election.
Patch profiles the three candidates in Tuesday's runoff election.
Friday, May 10, 2013
The interactive U.S. voting map shows who the Florida voters were in the 2012 presidential election. You may be surprised by the results.
A slightly greater percerntage of eligible Hispanic voters – 62.2 percent – cast ballots in the 2012 presidential election in Florida than white, non-Hispanic voters. And more eligible female voters went to the polls than men. The results are among several demographic mesaurements released by the U.S. Census showing the make-up of voters in Florida and across the United States. Just click on Florida on the map above to see the results. Darker green states had a higher percentage of turnout. If you click on an individual state, you will see percentages of eligible U.S. citizens who voted in that state broken down by gender, race and ethnic group. This information was released from from the US Census Bureau on Wednesday, May 8, 2013. Florida…
Rita Ferrandino, Chair of the Sarasota County Democratic Party, weighs in on who she's supporting in the May 14 city election.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Entrepreneur Jesse Biter received a warning from the city of Sarasota in regards to his fundraising organization's efforts to elect Richard Dorfman.
Multi-millionaire Jesse Biter is being taken to task for failing to file a required city finance report related to his fund-raising organization's efforts to get Richard Dorfman elected to the City Commission and defeat Susan Chapman, Dorfman's opponent. Biter, 36, is behind a controversial video on YouTube that claims Sarasota's voting schedule, which does not follow the traditional November cycle, amounts to voter suppression. That video is being tweeted across social media. (See video with this post.) Biter received a notice from the city of Sarasota on Tuesday, April 30, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. (See photo of the city's letter.) According to the Herald-Tribune, Biter was warned by the city auditor and clerk that if his…
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Susan Chapman reinforced her campaign issues as several former mayors of Sarasota flanked her side.
City Commission candidate Susan Chapman is battling the tag team of Mayor Suzanne Atwell and candidate Richard Dorfman by bringing out the mayors. Chapman appeared with 11 former Sarasota mayors outside the Federal Building on Orange Avenue on Wednesday as part of a press conference to show off her support. The twelfth former Sarasota mayor to lend support, now County Commissioner Nora Patterson, was unable to attend. Chapman is competing against Atwell and candidate Richard Dorfman in a runoff race on May 14. Atwell and Dorfman hosted a joint press conference on March 26 where former candidates Kelvin Lumpkin and Linda Holland announced their support of Atwell and Dorfman. The top two votegetters earn a spot on the City Commission. …
Monday, April 8, 2013
Even if you didn't vote in the March election for City Commissioner, you can still register to vote for the runoff election.
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, April 8
Did you miss your chance to vote in the March City Commission election? You can still register to vote in time for the My 14 runoff City Commission election, as the deadline is April 15. Residents of the City of Sarasota must be registered by Monday, April 15 to be eligible to vote in the May 14 Second (runoff) Election for the at-large city commission seat. New voter registrations must be postmarked by April 15 or delivered in person to any supervisor of elections office not later than 5 p.m., April 15. Supervisor of Elections (SOE) Kathy Dent urges all voters to verify and update their registration information prior to election day. A voter may check his or her voter registration status by going to the SOE website (www.SarasotaVotes.…
Paul Cajka Sr
3:48 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Atwell is okay for encouraging some growth. Chapman will let Sarasota become a sleepy waterside village as new business will flow to Lakewood Ranch. more ›