Crony capitalism hard at work in Sarasota County’s push to support massive hotels

Corporations will often lobby government in an effort to have their products or service specifications established to gain a competitive advantage. This lobbying can take the form of grants – or it can take the form of a government entity writing purchase specs or regulations in a manner that clearly favors an individual corporation.

This strategy is called “crony capitalism,” and it is exactly what is playing out today in Sarasota County.

It recently manifested itself in the Benderson Promenade development site at US 41 and Stickney Point Road. Benderson Development courted the Sarasota County commissioners to approve this project despite almost universal resident opposition. The major opposition came from nearby residents and people who access the Siesta Key south bridge: Currently, westbound traffic on Stickney Point Road frequently backs up from U.S. 41 all the way to Midnight Pass Road on Siesta Key – and eastbound traffic is similarly gridlocked.

For a quarter-century, Sarasota County has recognized that Siesta Key already has a high level of congestion. Yet the county commissioners have been working to rewrite the Comprehensive Plan to assist Benderson’s plan to develop a hotel on Siesta Key, and to allow it to move through the application process.

This action by the county commission to promote crony capitalism is anti-competitive, and it is not in line with the Republican Party’s general philosophy of promoting free and fair competition.

On the surface, this crony capitalist approach may appear to be only aimed at Siesta Key – but this is just the beginning. The commission’s willingness to change Sarasota County’s definition of “transient accommodations” will create virtually unlimited numbers of hotel rooms per acre throughout Sarasota County. In addition to affecting Siesta Key, such a policy will put all of Sarasota County at risk of being targeted for high-density hotels.

Many of us moved to Sarasota County from blue states where crony capitalism was most often the rule rather than the exception. But deviating from a market economy is a slippery slope and if Benderson’s lobbying and political contributions are not stopped now, Sarasota County may become a “dialing for donations” cesspool. Sarasota County citizens deserve better, and it is our hope that the county commission will heed the wishes of nearly all of Siesta Key’s residents and oppose high-density hotels and their concomitant Development Code revisions.

I participated in three recent Zoom neighborhood workshops regarding the proposed high-density hotels and there was not a single Siesta Key resident who supported them. Sarasota County has already facilitated these proposals by permitting the developers to conduct Zoom meetings instead of holding public, in-person workshops. However, the COVIDera excuses for not holding face-to-face meetings should no longer apply, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has clearly realized this by directing the Florida Department of Transportation to conduct in-person hearings.

Gov. DeSantis has long promoted public participation and honest, face-to-face discussion. The county commission should operate in a way that is consistent with Gov. DeSantis’ approach, because public policy flourishes when it is conducted in an open manner.

The mission of the Sarasota County Commission should be to protect the health, safety and welfare of the county’s citizens, not to promote crony capitalism welfare for developers.

John Doherty is a retired business owner and manager. He has been a resident of Siesta Key since 2016.