Eileen Normile is a Sarasota City Commissioner running in District 2, and is responding to Susan Nilon's column in the Feb. 14 edition of SRQ Daily

The determination about whether a race is partisan or not is made by the entity holding the election—in this case the City of Sarasota. That decision is set forth in our city’s constitution, the City Charter (Article III, Section 2):“All elections to the office of city commissioner shall be conducted on a nonpartisan basis without designation of any political affiliation of any candidate on any ballot.” 

While there is a clear prohibition in the words of the Charter on a candidate’s personal electioneering as a party partisan, one could argue there is wiggle room for a party itself to support a candidate with volunteers and expertise.  However, there are limits.

After reading the Charter language, do you think it permissible to hand out score sheets to voters as they enter polling places in a nonpartisan election so they can decide how to vote based on party? Of course not. That would be a clear violation of the plain language of the City’s constitution (among other legal violations). But that is exactly what one party has done with absentee ballots in this race. One party sent out emails and continues to make phone calls to its members to coincide with the arrival of absentee ballots. These communications make  sure the voter knows  who was who by party. So much for the words of the City Charter.

It is naïve to think a D or R (or anything else) next to a candidate’s name will give the “full transparency” Ms. Nilon craves when you “want to know more than what the candidate is telling you on the campaign trail.”  Why not fully vet candidates instead of depending on party designation to say it all?

In November, I was appointed to fill the District 2 seat on the City Commission, chosen from a field of 10 applicants—one of whom was Liz Alpert. Should Commmissioners have chosen Ms. Alpert simply because she was a member of a particular political party? Where has she stood on important city issues? What has she accomplished on her advisory boards other than “participation?”  Has she ever assumed a level of authority on any board or organization she joined? Or does her party affiliation give her all the credentials and “transparency” anyone needs?

I could not be more proud of the fact that I have overwhelmingly nonpartisan support. That support is based on my accomplishments on the Independent Police Advisory Panel, the Bird Key Homeowners Association and my investment of time and effort in bringing clarity to major issues confronting the city. Does a D or R or NPA negate who I am or what I’ve done?

If you want to be a City Commissioner in the City of Sarasota it is incumbent upon you to read the City Charter and abide by its tenets.  If someone—or some political party—violates the Charter on your behalf, then it is your duty to speak out publically about it and put a stop to it. 

Eileen Normile is a Sarasota City Commissioner running in District 2, and is responding to Susan Nilon's column in the Feb. 14 edition of SRQ Daily