Amy Farrington, the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce’s newest vice president, is no stranger to the world of public policy. She previously worked as director of government affairs for the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, but also worked for the Florida House of Representatives and for the state Division of Elections. The attorney has lived in Sarasota since 2008, working most recently for ShelterBox USA, but now takes over as the Chamber’s vice president of Public Policy and Sarasota Tomorrow initiatives.

What are the top policy issues for the Chamber that you plan to address?  The Chamber covers state, county and city issues. We are following the state agenda with transportation funding. The business rent tax is a big issue; we are trying to reduce that. We do have a city priorities council that is looking at, issues like Bayfront 2020 and affordable housing for the city and city. We always look at transportation and transit issues, such as the Fruitville streetscape. We did support having the issue of moving the city election placed as a referendum to the voters; we haven’t picked if one side is good or bad, just that we should let voters decide. Right now at the county level, our focus is on the comprehensive plan update, which is where we are putting most of our efforts.

What drew you into Sarasota and to this job? My husband has lived here most of his life and has worked for Sarasota and for Manatee counties. With this job, I just happened to see it. I wasn’t even looking around for a job; I was at ShelterBox, which was a job I did love, in order to be a part of the solution. I should say that we are doing Sarasota Tomorrow, and that is all about being part of the solution. We see high school graduation rates are not what they should be, and we are actively doing something to change that. That is why I like this kind of job.