Three Republicans file to run for Sarasota County Commission District 1 in '24

Three candidates have already filed to run in the Republican primary for Sarasota County Commission District 1 – a contest that won’t take place until Aug. 20, 2024.

They include building industry professional Teresa Mast, former state lawmaker Ray Pilon and property management professional Les Nichols.

District 1 includes north-central and northeastern Sarasota County. The district’s seat will be vacated by Commissioner Mike Moran, who will be finishing his second term in 2024. (Sarasota County commissioners can only serve two terms on the board.)

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No Democrats have filed for the seat yet, but prospective candidates have until June 2024 to do so.

Teresa Mast

Mast said she’s lived in Sarasota County since she was 13. She has run a female majority-owned construction company, the Davin Group, for over 30 years. The company builds new custom homes and remodels existing houses and condos.

Mast worked for Sarasota County for over 10 years in the areas of neighborhood services, business relations and economic development. Her husband, Jon, is the CEO of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association.

Mast is currently a member of the Sarasota County Planning Commission. She ran for the county School Board in 2016, but lost to incumbent Caroline Zucker.

Mast was the first candidate to file for the commission District 1 seat, followed by Pilon and then Nichols.

“I want to be the commissioner who will always look out for the quality of life for all of our citizens and all of our community here in Sarasota County,” she said. “It’s been an aspiration of mine for quite some time.”

Mast said she wants to leave “an incredible legacy for everyone’s children and everyone’s grandchildren.”

Asked to describe her philosophy on growth and development, Mast said that county commissioners need to keep in mind the quality of life of all citizens when proposals come before them.

Les Nichols

A native of Ringgold, Georgia, Nichols served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years after graduating from high school. He then started working in property management, a field that he has remained in for 23 years. He manages condominium and homeowner associations.

Nichols and his family spent 12 years in the Pensacola area before moving to Sarasota in 2012.

He currently serves on four Sarasota County advisory committees. He said he’s running for the commission because he thinks the county needs a commissioner focused on innovation, business expansion and sustainable residential growth.

“I think we got to get away from the old way of thinking,” he said. “The county needs really a fresh face – somebody with energy and motivation to really serve the people of Sarasota at the highest level.”

Nichols said he wants to help the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources department continue to be successful. He also wants the county to maintain a high employee retention rate.

On the topic of growth and development, Nichols said that county commissioners must evaluate the economic and environmental impacts of residential developments before they are approved.

“We have to take our time and really evaluate what we’re doing and what we’re looking at,” he said.

Ray Pilon

Pilon and his wife moved to Florida from Michigan in the 1970’s. He worked for the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office for 17 and a half years, holding a variety of roles, such as public information officer and canine handler.

Pilon was elected to the County Commission in 1996 and served one term. From 2010 to 2016, he represented the Sarasota area in the Florida House of Representatives. He ran unsuccessfully for the state Senate in 2016 and again for the House in 2018.

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“We first moved here in 1975,” he said. “So certainly I’ve seen a lot of changes – many of them are wonderful changes and wonderful amenities. But I think we’re now going in the wrong direction.”

Pilon said he thinks Sarasota County is becoming overbuilt. He noted that he’s not anti-growth and he believes that the county’s growth will continue unless there’s an economic downturn.

“I just think we ought to have the right growth at the right place at the right time, and keep the citizens that will be impacted as primary in our decisions,” he said.

Pilon said he wants “to be a voice for the people.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Who's already in the race for Sarasota County Commission District 1?