Eight Former Sarasota Mayors Endorse Jono Miller for the County Commission

October 23 • Three mayors were missing when five former City Of Sarasota mayors gathered on the Sarasota bayfront recently for an unprecedented photo. The eight mayors are all endorsing Jono Miller, candidate for Sarasota County Commission from District One. Mayors at the gathering included Mollie Cardamone, William Kline, Richard Martin, David Merrill, and Rita Roehr. Mayors Fredd Atkins, Mary Anne Servian, and Jack Gurney didn't make the impromptu reunion. The eight city leaders, Republicans and Democrats alike, represent a surprising show of political unity that boosts Miller's claims that he not only knows the county better than his opponents, but also has significant city credentials. Their bipartisan show of support adds to his growing list of organizational and personal endorsements.

"Jono is very knowledgeable of the county issues and needs. He has the experience and leadership to make some much needed positive change for Sarasota County," Former Democratic mayor Mollie Cardamone commented. Former Republican mayor Rita Roehr added, "Jono has only the best interest of Sarasota County in mind."

Miller said the numerous endorsements were the result of his work with city leaders over more than three decades: "My opponent kept emphasizing the valuable insight and experience that comes from being mayor, so I decided to call some of the former mayors I had worked with. I asked 13. One said she was already committed to my opponent, four said they would be neutral, and eight said they would endorse me."

"I am deeply honored because not only do these mayors know the city and its relationship to the county commission, but they also know my opponent and myself. They are therefore uniquely qualified to offer opinions about what kind of county leadership are needed and their overwhelming support for my candidacy speaks for itself."

Miller's Republican opponent, Carolyn Mason, lists just one former mayor on her website, Republican Lou Ann Palmer.

After the photo shoot the bipartisan group headed to a local restaurant to reminisce about the city and discuss the challenges Jono will face on the commission.

Although Miller once lived outside the city in the unincorporated county for twelve years, his record of service to the city stretches back to 1977 when he was appointed to the City's Parks and Recreation Board at age 26. For the past 16 years, Miller has been at the center of the county's environmentally sensitive lands program, which has protected nearly 45 square miles of local shorelines, hammocks, and prairies. Despite receiving the County's Lifetime Achievement award for his conservation work, Miller says his perspective has broadened in recent years.

"The metaphor is I no longer color with just the green crayons. I'm deeply committed not only to the wild areas of the county, but the cities as well – if the cities aren't working, people will leave, creating decay and sprawl."

The restaurant conversation included not only national topics that ranged from Wall Street to Wasilla, but also the difficult local economic situation the new commission will face in November. Miller conceded the commission will have to deal with tough choices, but said he is ready to focus on steps to re-energize the local economy.

"The county, SCOPE and the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce have all recently announced major efforts to understand and support the local economy and I'm committed to all three. I think our goal needs to be to make Sarasota County simultaneously known for its environment-friendly businesses and its business-friendly environment."

In addition to his environmental leadership, Jono has volunteered his time and talent by serving in leadership positions on numerous boards and committees geared to improving the community. Jono has served as president of the New College Alumnae Association Board, on SCOPE (where he served a term as chairman and was co-chair of the project on Aging), on the board of his neighborhood association, on the Booker Elementary School's Student-Parent Management Team, and was recruited by the county commission to serve on the Sarasota County Citizen Oversight Committee on Voting Systems, which he ended up chairing.

Jono Miller: Facebook, YouTube, Webpage, Blog "Four-fold Campaign Internet Seems to Work"

Sure, Barack Obama has success with his high-end website. But does it make a difference locally? Based on traffic I say yes. Web Designer Nikki Kostyun has overhauled the old format, making it easier to read and easier for me to keep current. Our new webpage layout may be responsible or it may simply be that people now crave information about candidates, but my website traffic has been increasing dramatically, with over 50 visits on Monday alone and new visitors outnumbering returns 2 to 1. And website totals show over 2,150 distinct  "absolute unique" visitors have checked it out. You can check out the new look too -- simply click on the highlighted text. Combine the website with the blog that now has over 1,500 'reads' on Sarasota Speaks and the YouTube Video from January (152 views) and the Facebook campaign group Jono Miller for Sarasota County Commission '08 (118 members) and  -- if everyone visiting these sites like what they see and votes in Sarasota -- that could make a big difference on November 4th.

Herald Tribune Notes Jono Miller has Raised More Than One Hundred Thousand Dollars

October 22 • A front page story in the Sarasota Herald Tribune's local section covers the fact that I've raised the most money in county history for a county commission race. That should help sell papers. Of course, curious citizens could have read my blog entry from October 7th for free to learn more about this phenomenon. What I failed to mention, and is absent from the Tribune story, is the fact that, because this is a race that will be decided in the general election, 222,000 are expected to vote, not a lower turnout primary (Staub - who won with a total 48,000 voting) or uncontested race (Thaxton). Reaching and persuading the majority of 222,000 costs a lot more than reaching half of 48,000 [Although to be fair, Shannon Staub did not know in advance precisely which 48,000 would be voting.]

Read the Tribune Story here.

An excerpt from the article:

He is unapologetic about his support from the county to the north.

"I don't know why it's more ominous to have money from an out-of-county developer than in an in-county developer," Miller said.

Developers have always contributed to County Commission candidates, and Miller says it reflects well on him that he has been able to court their contributions.

"It's a lot of money," he said. "I wish we could do it some other way, but there's no point in showing up at a gunfight with a knife."

An excerpt from my earlier blog:

Here's what voters need to ask themselves: Would we rather have:

1) a leading environmentalist with the endorsement of the Sierra Club, a reputation for being "a voice of reason", and a three decade track record of consistent defense of the environment supported by some developers and hundreds of citizens,

or

2) candidates with no stated environmental credentials being supported by some other developers or having no significant grassroots support?

Jono Miller Reflects on October 19th and Asks for Your Vote

I’m writing late on October 19th to tell you that, on the eve of early voting, despite the polls, pundits, and predictions, no one knows the outcome of any of the pending elections. No one knows exactly how Obama or McCain will do in the popular or electoral vote and no one knows how Carolyn, John and myself will fare in the one remaining undecided county commission contest. But before I tell you that I need to tell you about four inspirational moments of the day: one walk and two talks and two runs.

Six weeks ago two women decided to organize a bridge walk in support of the Obama campaign. They did, and so, at noon, Julie and I found ourselves converging on a corner with a crowd ultimately estimated to be between 3,500 and 5,000. It wasn’t that long ago that comparable numbers were signing an online petition to object to renaming the Ringling bridge; but 4,000 digital signatures is nothing like 4,000 like-minded people moving forward towards a goal, whether that goal is walking across a bridge and back or electing Barack Obama. Or both. The energy contained in that group of Sarasotans was unlike anything I had experienced around here before. The newspaper makes it sound like a tee-shirt sale and estimates the crowd at half that, but it was clearly more than a tee-shirt sale and clearly more than 2,000 people.

Late in the afternoon I found myself sitting under a jacaranda, my feet scuffing a lawn and facing a group of maybe 40 neighbors south of downtown. I’ve grown weary of the sandblasted No Solicitation signs that seem to decorate so many deed-restricted developments in our county. The other week one couple offered to ‘call the cops’ when I knocked on their door (I hadn’t seen the sign). I’m sure most Americans would look askance at a foreign country if we were told their candidates were not allowed to introduce themselves to the citizenry. But there are dozens of ‘communities’ where not only political signs are banned but also the candidates themselves. So it was refreshing to address a group of neighbors that actually wanted to hear from candidates. It was democracy in action and had Norman Rockwell been alive, he might have tried to capture the moment.

Finally, there was the Democrats fundraising dinner at Michael’s on East. I’m sure you can imagine how tedious a fundraising dinner might be. And there were the obligatory name tags, the program at the place setting and the chicken. But we were graced with the presence of an American who had covered more ground than most, John Lewis, a sharecropper’s son who now represents Georgia’s fifth congressional district. Along the way he participated in the Selma to Montgomery march and spoke at the same event that featured Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech. He is living testimony to the quest for rights and a very compelling speaker. My wife and I are honored to know a man who helped Representative Lewis in his first run for Congress. Julie spoke with him about that common friend - in addition to thanking him for his service, I spoke with him about raising chickens.

Some will remember October 19th 2008 as the day the Rays made it to the World Series, leading by two runs, but for me that was just one of four memorable events. And despite its significance it was the only one of the four that I experienced vicariously, as a spectator. There is something about directly participating in democracy that is unlike anything TV can offer.

Early voting starts today and I need your help. This is your chance to directly participate in Democracy. As you may know, I’m ahead by many measures of campaigns – newspaper endorsements, days campaigning, number of contributors, dollars raised, blog entries read (over 1.500 now), etc. But I hope, we hope, that none of that matters in our system of government – what matters is the number of votes. Whether you are a regular blog reader of mine or this is your first visit; please send a link to your friends and neighbors, telling them about my candidacy and encouraging them to vote for me.

Tell them three major newspapers in the County find me to be the most qualified. Tell them I am the most committed to communicating with the public. Tell them to do their own research. Tell them about whatever you find compelling (see the poll in the upper right hand corner of the blog). But tell them to vote.

Observer finds Jono Miller Most Qualified, Then Endorses Mullarkey

October 17 • The Observer family of newspapers has released its candidate endorsements. While it is no surprise that incumbent Democrat, Barbara Ford-Coates, has the best credentials for Tax Collector, it was a surprise that the Observer actually went for a Democrat. But that was it for the Democratic candidates. In the District 1 County Commission race, Jono Miller got rave reviews, then lost ground for providing leadership on one of the most popular and successful county programs -the Environmentally Sensitive Lands initiative that used voter-approved funds to protect nearly 45 square miles of the county through a willing seller program.

An excerpt of the Observer's comments about Jono appears below. (If you want to read what was said about John Mullarkey, pick up a copy of the Observer or maybe he will post the text on his blog.)

This race has two of the most thoughtful candidates in the entire field-- Democrat Jono Miller and Mullarkey. Of the two, Miller is the candidate most ready and qualified for the position. He has an expert grasp of the issues and would raise the commission’s intellectual capital.

Our one hesitation with Miller has been his support of a county tax to buy private land from preservation. Except for that, Miller gets it: He understands that the top challenge for Sarasota County is creating an environment that will lead to job and business growth. He understands that stopping sprawl and limiting densities and heights are conflicting policies. Of the two, he supports higher densities.

Pelican Press Endorses Jono Miller for the Sarasota County Commission

October 15 • Just one day after another leading newspaper announced its preference in the District 1 County Commission contest, the Pelican Press has announced it is endorsing Jono Miller. In doing so, the Pelican Press demonstrated it is willing to look at the complete record and not get derailed by a single issue.

Although it is commonly reported that I am "a professor" at New College, I never have been a member of the faculty and I take pains to clarify that my position as Director of the Environmental Studies Program was an administrative position that allowed me opportunities to teach in collaboration with New College faculty members.

The text of the Pelican Press endorsement appears below.

The Sarasota County Commission District 1 race this year is especially important. The successful candidate must be prepared to create a balanced budget in a time of increasing economic stress and revisit county building and zoning regulations to create new codes.

The strengthening of the urban services boundary by referendum earlier this year places special requirements on the commissioners to weigh carefully urban in-fill development. And the county’s program of sustainability, preservation of natural spaces and park lands will be under stress.

These are challenging matters that demand experience, talent and education of the people who will be addressing them. We are fortunate that one of the candidates in this race not only meets but exceeds these requirements – Jono Miller.

A professor of environmental studies at New College, Miller has participated in countywide environmental assessments for more than 20 years. He is also one of the founders of the Environmentally Sensitive Lands program.

Miller’s campaign is reaching "across the aisle" to the business community by promising a more business-friendly atmosphere in county government. And he is a proponent of in-fill development. His campaign finances show healthy contributions from the development community. For a well-known environmentalist to receive such contributions is a refreshing change, and an example of Miller’s ability to create consensus.

Republican Carolyn Mason, a former city commissioner and mayor of the City of Sarasota, is his principal opponent. She, too, has a long resumé of civic activity at the local and state level. However, we already have one former Sarasota mayor on the commission – Nora Patterson – and we think two mayors would be one too many.

An independent candidate John Mullarkey, is also running as a fiscal conservative. "We’re going into times now where ideology doesn’t count. Numbers count," he said.

All three candidates promise to promote the local economy and preserve the environment. However, two real-time issues show differences between the candidates – building a baseball stadium and reopening Midnight Pass. Mason favors both. Mullarkey wants to reopen the pass and ignore the stadium. Miller thinks the current baseball financing plan "is disingenuous" and does "not feel re-opening the pass is a good investment at this time."

We steadfastly have supported reopening Midnight Pass for two decades, but it is not our only issue. We believe Jono Miller is uniquely qualified in these uncertain times to provide a steady hand at the county commission. Despite his assigning Midnight Pass a low priority, we endorse Miller for the District One seat on the Sarasota County Commission.

Jono Miller Endorsed by Sarasota Herald-Tribune

I was humbled and honored this morning by the Herald-Tribune's glowing endorsement.  Here's what they singled out:

• Wide-ranging knowledge and experiences

• Well-organized campaign

• Voice of reason on contentious issues

The final two sentences are shown below: