Sarasota GOP Supports Commissioner Term Limits

During the same week when a group of 16 Sarasota County citizens filed a lawsuit against Sarasota County to uphold term limits approved in 1998, the Sarasota County GOP took a vote on the issue.

By a near unanimous decision, the Sarasota County GOP voted 97-2 to urge county commissioners to abide by the term limits voters passed in 1998 and to allow for the special election Jan. 31. Voters would be asked to limit county commissioners to three, four-year terms. 

According to a Sarasota County GOP news release, the resolution further urged the commissioners to abandon consideration of extending the limit to three terms, and not restart the clock on current commissioners’ terms by changing the effective date of enforcement.

Under the Charter mandate, Commissioners would only be able to serve again after a two-year lapse of service.

In an email to Sarasota County GOP members the group said term limits would be bad for the county. 

"In addition, the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections has stated that the cost of adding the County Commission’s proposed language to the ballot would be $120,000. Rather than spending $120,000 on efforts to ignore the will of the people and extend their time in office, The Republican Party of Sarasota County recommends that the Commissioners return these funds to the taxpayers by way of lowering taxes."

Commissioners are scheduled to have a public hearing on Nov. 15 to approve proposed ballot language that would set three, four-year term limits for commissioners.

The term limits would apply only to new county commissioners. 

The proposed charter change, tentatively set to be voted on by the public in January, says: 

"Shall Section 2.IA of the Sarasota County Charter be amended to allow County Commissioners to serve three consecutive terms, rather than two consecutive terms, currently ruled unconstitutional by the twelfth judicial circuit court, and to provide that term limits shall be applicable only to future terms rather than to current or prior terms? These terms limits would be enforceable if a court's ruling results in Sarasota County's Commissioner term limits being found constitutional."

Tuesday's meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Sarasota County Chambers.