Jacob Ogles
Four candidates committed to preserving Sarasota Memorial Hospital as a public institution won respective their Republican nominations to the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board.
In Republican Primary races for four seats on the nine-person Board, Sarah Wetzler DePeters won the at-large Seat 1 with 67%, Kevin Cooper won at-large Seat 2 with 66%, Pam Beitlich won at-large Seat 3 with 62% and Sarah Lodge won Central District Seat 1 with almost 70%. That was will unofficial election results in.
They defeated, respectively, Tazmin Rosenwatter, Stephen Guffanti, Mary Flynn O’Neill and Tanya Parus. Those candidates represented a so-called “medical freedom” slate that publicly attacked hospital policy, especially during the COVID pandemic, as disrespectful to patients’ desires.
“Tonight the polls are closed and we won! All four candidates that Citizens for Healthcare Excellence Action Fund supported won their primary election!” read a statement from the Citizens For Healthcare Action Fund.
“Thank you for your support and financial contribution to help make sure Sarasota Memorial Hospital stays a community gem. Sarah Lodge, Sharon DePeters, Kevin Cooper and Pam Beitlich all ran incredible races and won with a message of protecting our hospital and maintaining excellent care. They will all face a general election on November 5, but for now we will celebrate our community coming together.”
The anti-privatization field found success banking on the extremism animating the party in the wake of 2020 COVID restrictions and mandates being tempered down. The candidates instead argued for the importance of maintaining a world-class public hospital in Sarasota.
“Look, at the end of the day Republicans in Sarasota County are sick and tired of living in the COVID-past,” said Max Goodman, a Republican consultant working with the slate. “There is a reason the presidential candidates on the national stage aren’t talking about COVID — they’re looking forward.”
“That’s why the likes of Army Combat Veteran Kevin Cooper and SMH Executive Director Pam Beitlich have shattered every fundraising record in Hospital Board history. It’s why Hospital Board members Sarah Lodge and Sharon Wetzler DePeters are galvanizing so much Republican support. People understand how personal and important quality medical care is for themselves and their loved ones. They also understand that the faux-medical freedom pretenders will put their healthcare at risk. Look no further than their recent proclamation that they would stop the development of the new North Port hospital, a petulant one-finger salute to the residents of South County who don’t want to drive an hour for medical treatment.”
The “medical freedom” slate, meanwhile, pushed back on being characterized as pro-privatization, a label sparked by a social media post by right-wing leader Michael Flynn, a Venice resident and brother to Flynn O’Neill, saying the hospital should consider going private at a time Guffanti was attacking the Board for isolating COVID patients.
“The false accusations aimed at us only highlight the lack of integrity in our opponents’ campaigns,” reads a joint statement issued by Flynn O-Neill and Parus. “Their deceptive tactics, including spreading lies about our position on privatization, raise doubts about their transparency and honesty. We remain steadfast in our commitment to keeping Sarasota Memorial public and accessible to all, and we will not be swayed by their deceitful tactics.”
While the slate piqued media attention, it never raised a comparable amount of money against the business leaders and incumbents running a hospital defense message. Flynn O’Neill raised less than $1,000 compared to Beitlich’s nearly $28,000 haul. Parus raised more than $3,500, but Lodge reported more than $23,000 in fundraising.
Rosenwatter has been the most successful fundraiser running on a patient’s voice message, collecting nearly $15,000 to top incumbent DePeters’ total of less than $9,000. Guffanti raised more, almost $20,000, but that was overshadowed by Cooper’s record-breaking haul of nearly $43,000.
Write-in candidates ensured all the August races were closed to Republican voters. Democrats filed in every seat, and the winners of the Republican Primary now advance to November. There, the Republican nominees will face Democrat Alan Sprintz in at-large Seat 1, George Davis in at-large Seat 3 and Vicki Lynn Nighswander in Central District Seat 1.
