NORTH PORT The three candidates seeking the vacant District 1 City Commission seat in the March 9 special election found more common ground than difference during a Zoom forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County.
The candidates, Joseph Garren, Walt Grzenikowski and Alice White, all spoke of the need to bring in higher-paying jobs and business and to ease the tax burden on city homeowners.
White, a 30-year resident, said she had concerns about the original annexations in the early 2000s and was among several who foresaw problems fostering unity as new residents moved in.
Specifically, she said the city would “really struggle to have that area feel they’re a part of what I would call North Port proper, because they’re three miles up the highway.”
SARASOTA COUNTY – Since voters overwhelmingly supported a 2018 effort to secure $65 million in funding to extend the Legacy Trail – which runs 12.5 miles south from Culverhouse Nature Park to Center Road in Venice – some south Sarasota County residents felt they were being left behind.
Residents of North Port watched as elected officials fast-tracked the construction of the northern extension. They watched a groundbreaking ceremony for those segments over the summer. They wondered if they would also get a paved trail.
The fear became so pronounced that it was a brief focal point during the election to fill South County seats ahead of the November general election.