In May, 2021, The Board of Sarasota County Commissioners decided to place a question about Single Member Districts (SMD) on the County's 2021 telephone survey, with the justification that SMD has had its “trial run.”
In fact, since passing as a Citizens' Charter Amendment in 2018, it has only been tried once, in just three of the five Sarasota County districts.
Below is a short video of the SMD discussion between County Administrator and Commissioner Detert about the County's survey:
Here is the notorious Question 36 from the County Survey, asking voters - some of whom have never had a chance to vote in SMDs - to make a quick decision based on the loaded language of the question:
36. Sarasota County now operates with single-member districts. This means that the county is divided into separate geographic areas, creating districts, and each district is represented by only one commissioner. In the next election, Sarasota County residents will now only be able to vote for the one county commissioner that will represent the district they live in. Please tell me how much you approve or disapprove of your ability to vote for one county commissioner for your district.
⎯ Strongly disapprove
⎯ Disapprove
⎯ Approve
⎯ Strongly approve
⎯ Unsure/DK/NA/Refused
***IMPORTANT*** If you haven't already done so, please take the Alternative Survey distributed by Citizens for District Power.
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