Executive committee votes not to endorse longtime Republican Deborah Anderson, seeking re-election to Venice City Council

A contentious meeting that featured prominent Republicans denouncing each other and a sitting elected official accusing the crowd of McCarthyism ended with the Republican Party of Sarasota issuing its first endorsement in a race between Republicans.

The Sarasota GOP’s executive committee voted overwhelmingly Thursday to begin endorsing in races between Republicans under certain circumstances and then immediately sided against a Republican Venice City Council member by endorsing her GOP opponent in a race for a seat on the council.

“To me this is McCarthy,” said Council member Deborah Anderson, who lost her party’s endorsement despite decades of involvement in GOP politics dating back to high school.

The Venice City Council race was the test case for the Sarasota GOP’s new “endorsement and loyalty" policy, which stipulates that candidates can’t receive the party’s support if they have publicly sided with a non-Republican candidate in a race against a Republican.

Anderson wrote an email during the 2015 election criticizing Emilio Carlesimo, a Republican member of the Venice City Council who was running for re-election, and endorsed his opponent, an independent whose growth control views she shares.

Rising in her own defense before a crowd of 100 at the South Gate Community Center, Anderson noted that the email was two years old and laid out her long history in the party, which includes extensive volunteer work locally.

“To be honest I am frankly shocked by this whole thing,” Anderson said shortly before the vote endorsing her opponent, Charles "Chuck" Newsom in the race for Seat 2 on the council.

Sarasota GOP Chairman Joe Gruters said the endorsement policy is needed to keep Republicans officeholders in line and prevent them from working to help Democrats and other non-Republicans.

“We’re a big tent party, we’re welcoming everybody,” Gruters said before the back-to-back votes. “My only issue is if you don’t like the Republican candidate than just don’t say anything… you just can’t work against us, the team.”

The decision to begin endorsing in contests between Republicans could have major consequences for the party and for local elections. It is largely a reaction to recent Sarasota County School Board races, which have seen Republican officeholders support Democratic candidates. GOP School Board member Caroline Zucker later received extensive Democratic support for her own reelection campaign.

School Board member Jane Goodwin, a moderate Republican, is up for reelection next year. GOP leaders have criticized her for supporting Democrats and talked about endorsing in her race if she attracts a Republican opponent.

Critics within the party worry that endorsing in contests between Republicans will create unwanted intra-party strife and could end up narrowing the GOP’s appeal.

“What we’re doing here is creating another situation, another reason to have an argument,” Sarasota resident and GOP precinct captain Tad MacKie said in urging the crowd not to support the endorsement policy.

The loyalty issue has been particularly vexing for party leaders, who have been under pressure to take action when Republican officials openly side with non-Republicans in contested races where a Republican is running.

“They are exploiting our weakness, they are exploiting our desire for fairness and we can not allow that to stand,” GOP School Board member Eric Robinson told the crowd.

Robinson and School Board member Bridget Ziegler make up the conservative faction of the board. Elements within the Sarasota GOP are working to gain a conservative majority on the board.

Gruters said the endorsement policy is not meant to target moderate Republicans over their beliefs, only those who side against the party’s candidates.

The Venice race proved to be a contentious test case for the new policy, in part because Anderson has such an extensive record in GOP politics. She served as a delegate to the Michigan Republican State Convention in high school and worked in Washington, D.C., for two GOP congressmen after college.

After retiring to Venice, Anderson became active in the Sarasota GOP, serving on the party’s executive committee for the last nine years and as the party’s district manager in Venice overseeing volunteers.

Anderson and Carlesimo, who is again running for City Council, this time against Mitzie Fiedler for Seat 1, have been at odds over growth issues.

Some party members said privately they thought that the move to sanction Anderson was driven, at least in part, by pro-business forces who want to see her off the council because of her views on growth. Prominent developer Pat Neal was at Thursday's meeting. Anderson voted against one of Neal's developments.

"It's easy to pivot and say it's based on growth," Gruters said. "It has nothing to do with that."

Thursday's debate quickly turned personal, with one of Anderson’s supporters attacking Carlesimo and Anderson's critics denouncing her.

Harry Walia, a former GOP candidate for mayor of Venice, accused Carlesimo of hypocrisy, noting Carlesimo supported Walia's opponent, an independent who ended up winning the race.

“What’s happening here is exactly why I didn’t want this stupid thing passed,” MacKie said. “We’ve got personal attack after personal attack after personal attack.”