In the wake of recent events, there has been a call for unity nationwide and the ability to have conversations even if you disagree. Here in Sarasota, the collective community has been having productive conversations for a while, but peaceful discussion is not sensational enough to cover in the news, and it does not generate clicks and likes.
In 2017, a diverse coalition of important groups, who normally disagree a lot, got together to collaborate on an initiative that was very hard to argue with. Starting as Decide the Date and morphing into Change the Date, this was an effort by the community to change the date of the City of Sarasota commissioner elections to improve voter turnout.
It was a remarkable collection of significant groups with leaders who embraced dialogue, and an important cause, that had a side benefit of saving the City of Sarasota almost six figures in the first election after it passed. The Argus Foundation was a very proud member of that group, which included partners like the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, Sarasota ACLU, Gulf Coast Builder’s Exchange, NAACP, the Realtor’s Association, the Manasota Democratic Black Caucus, Sarasota Republican Party, The International Union of Police Associations, and Florida ACLU among many others. The groups, some of whom had never agreed on anything, were unified on this issue.…