Sarasota city elections remain more than a year away, but one race may already be heating up. Dan Clermont, an Arlington Park resident, filed his paperwork to run for City Commission in District 3. He promised a commitment to growth that’s comparable with the community and a focus on water quality issues facing the city.

“Sarasota is a very beautiful, very special city,” he said. “We have a responsibility to preserve and protect it. A dose of good old American common sense at City Hall is long overdue.”

Already, Sarasota attorney Erik Arroyo has filed for the same district seat last month. Arroyo had previously filed to run for Florida House of Representatives in District 72 and transferred his candidacy.

The seat is held now by Commissioner Shelli Freeland Eddie, also an attorney, who won the seat in 2015 after defeating incumbent Stan Zimmerman. Eddie has not announced if she will seek re-election.

Clermont quickly worked to position himself as a conservation-minded candidate. “When we consider any new development, we also have to make sure that we preserve and protect public open spaces such as Bobby Jones Golf Course, Payne and Arlington Park, as well as ensure that Legacy Trail connections are made to each neighborhood in our district.”

Not long after the city and nearby county utilities reported sewage spills, he also pushed on environmental issues. “We have serious water management and pollution problems, contributing to red tide,” he said, “and we need to find common sense ways to fund these improvements without raising utility bills 50 percent as planned.”

The district city elections next year will be the first since voters passed a Change The Date referendum, moving city elections to fall of even-numbered years.