Sarasota Charter

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Out of 67 counties that make up Florida, only 20 have their own charter.  Sarasota County was the second county in Florida to adopt its own constitution (Charter) in 1971.

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Lourdes Ramirez is running for Sarasota County's Charter Review Board to restore our rights. 

In 2018, the county commission put on the ballot a deceptive referendum that made it difficult for citizens to amend our charter.  Prior to 2018, the citizens could  propose charter amendments by gathering signatures from 5% of the voters. The signatures did not expire.  Now, the number of signatures required is 10% of the voter population and the signatures expire in 18 months.  That means citizens must gather about 31,500 signatures in a short time which makes it impossible to propose charter amendments.   The results of that ballot amendment is that only the County Commission or Charter Review Board can now propose changes to our charter.  We, the citizens of Sarasota County, lost our rights.  

We need to bring back the ability for our citizens to propose ballot amendments!

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Lourdes Ramirez is the best choice to restore our rights and to ensure citizens are represented on the Charter Review Board.

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For more information on Lourdes, visit the Meet Lourdes Ramirez page.

Link to the Republican Women's Club of Sarasota Voters' Guide