State Rep. Margaret Good, D-Sarasota, set up one of Florida’s top political battles of 2020 and set off some political dominoes on Monday.

Good announced she will challenge U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, in 2020, and spent Monday on a fundraising push. It’s a family rematch of sorts; Good won her state House seat in 2018 defeating James Buchanan, Vern’s son, in a special election.

“I know it’s not just the voters in my House district that deserve better representation,” Good said.

Buchanan, for his part, welcomed Good to the race. “Next year’s election is going to be pivotal to determine the direction of the country,” he said. “I look forward to being part of that discussion… A thoughtful discussion of the issues is always important for democracy.”

Buchanan last year won re-election to a seventh term after an expensive contest with Democrat David Shapiro. The Republican incumbent ultimately prevailed by 10 percent. But he now faces a Democrat who won re-election to her district, albeit by a smaller margin, in the same election.

Of course, Good’s entry into the Congressional race also means her departure from the already high-profile House race in state House District 72. There, she already faced two well-funded Republicans, Sarasota County Charter Review Board member Donna Barcomb and Naval Reserve Officer Fiona McFarland. Both had more than $40,000 in contributions raised already as of June’s end.

“It will be interesting to see who the Democrats recruit, but at the current time it’s a contest in the Republican primary,” Barcomb said.

Max Goodman, a spokesman for McFarland, who is on active deployment, said the focus of that campaign shifts little with Good’s exit. “Fiona’s mission remains the same,” he said. “She will continue to work every single day to earn the trust, respect and support of her community.”

Hours after Good announced her run for Congress, Sarasota attorney Drake Buckman announced he would file as a Democrat for the seat. His son, Trey, worked as a volunteer on Good’s state campaign.

Buckman, who will run on an environmental preservation platform, said he’s confident he can keep the seat. That’s despite the fact registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by about 11,000. 

“This is a district with a lot of common sense voters who are not driven by ideology,” Buckman said. 

On July 19, at the Annual State Conference, R. Christopher Sharek was sworn in as the President for the Florida Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Florida Section covers the entire state of Florida, with more than 7,000 members, and 13 branches. Sharek has served the local SunCoast Branch as secretary, webmaster, vice-president and president, and at the Section level as vice president and president-elect. Sharek is also a Florida native and advocate for the engineering profession. 

ASCE Florida Section

The Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida (AAASWFL) is seeking volunteers to lead health and wellness workshops in Sarasota, Charlotte and DeSoto counties.  Volunteers have the opportunity to lead fitness workshops that are focused on the unique needs of older adults.

AAASWFL’s workshops are designed to assist older adults with preventative measures to avoid falls, manage chronic conditions and handle caregiver stress. Currently, AAASWFL needs volunteers to lead the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program and A Matter of Balance. AAASWFL provides free training for both programs with a commitment to lead the workshops on the Agency’s behalf.

Workshops are typically held on weekday mornings and afternoons, so volunteers with flexible schedules are appreciated.  In addition to free training, volunteers also receive mileage reimbursement for agency-related travel. 

Area Agency on Aging of Southwest Florida

Attorney Leslie Wulfsohn Loftus, of the Sarasota-based law firm Loftus Law, has been selected for the 2019 Florida Trend magazine’s Legal Elite list. To compile the list, Florida Trend invited all actively practicing Florida lawyers to select the attorneys they hold in highest regard. Only 1,126 lawyers in Florida were named to the 2019 list, representing fewer than 1.3 percent of the active Florida Bar members who practice in Florida. Loftus has also been selected to the 2019 Super Lawyers list.

Loftus is currently serving a three-year term on the Twelfth Circuit Grievance Committee “C,” having been recently appointed by The Florida Bar. She concentrates her practice on family and marital law in the Sarasota/Bradenton area.  

Loftus Law

RE/MAX Alliance Group teams have been ranked among America’s Best Real Estate Professionals. Published by REAL Trends and based on 2018 home sales, the rankings represent the top one-half of 1 percent of the 1.4 million licensed real estate professionals in the United States.

In the North Port/Sarasota/Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), among teams by closed transaction sides, the Kathy Damewood Team in the Englewood office ranked #1, the Stiver Firth International Team in the Englewood office ranked #2, the Brewer Team in the Sarasota office ranked #3, the Sandra Newell Team in the Englewood office ranked #6, the Finney Team in the University Park office ranked #13, and Team Richard Capps in the Bradenton office ranked #14.

Among teams by closed sales volume, the Brewer Team in the Sarasota office ranked #6, the Stiver Firth International Team in the Englewood office ranked #11, the Travis Group in the Bradenton office ranked #15, the Glenn Brown Team in the Sarasota office ranked #19, and the Finney Team in the University Park office ranked #20. 

RE/MAX Alliance Group