Sarasota Democratic party accuses Tiger Bay of "unfair treatment," favoritism toward GOP

Christian Casale, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Updated ·3 min read
Members of Sarasota County’s legislative delegation participated at a Sarasota Tiger Bay Club forum in 2022. Pictured form left: State Sen. Joe Gruters, State Rep. Tommy Gregory, State Rep. Fiona McFarland, State Rep. Will Robinson, and former State Sen. Lisa Carlton, who served as moderator
Members of Sarasota County’s legislative delegation participated at a Sarasota Tiger Bay Club forum in 2022. Pictured form left: State Sen. Joe Gruters, State Rep. Tommy Gregory, State Rep. Fiona McFarland, State Rep. Will Robinson, and former State Sen. Lisa Carlton, who served as moderator

The Sarasota Democratic Party blasted the nonpartisan political organization Sarasota Tiger Bay Club for "unfair treatment and favoritism" and recommended that Democratic candidates boycott its events.

Sarasota County Democratic Party Chairman Daniel Kuether accused the organization of excluding Democrats from forums, and representing the interests of Republicans. He also complained of a Tiger Bay board member who is running for a public hospital board seat also facilitating a candidate panel.

"It's plain and straightforward: Sarasota Tiger Bay is not following the policies and guidelines laid out on its website," Kuether said in a statement this week.

Tiger Bay's website says the group is "political but nonpartisan" and does not endorse candidates.

"However, the club certainly subjects candidates on its panels to no-holds-barred question and answer sessions by moderators and Tiger members," according to its website.

The website also says that the organization, which has long cultivated a reputation for fostering will always have more than one candidate on a panel, no matter the subject. However, Sarasota Democrats accused Tiger Bay of excluding their candidates from events and refusing to accommodate their schedules.

Tiger Bay board member Kevin Cooper, who was criticized in the Democrats' statement, called Kuether's allegations "unhinged and really disappointing." He said Tiger Bay schedules forums with candidates directly, not through the party apparatus.

"This feels like a scapegoat to failed leadership inside the local Democratic Party," Cooper said.

Sarasota County Democratic Party Chairman Daniel Kuether, speaking at a candidate event in 2022 when he was a candidate for the Sarasota County Commission.
Sarasota County Democratic Party Chairman Daniel Kuether, speaking at a candidate event in 2022 when he was a candidate for the Sarasota County Commission.

But Democrats said the local party has "repeatedly asked Sarasota Tiger Bay to reschedule events, to include all candidates, and to provide community members from all sides of the political aisle."

"These latest infringements are extremely concerning and unacceptable no matter where you sit on the political spectrum."

Until their concerns are addressed, Sarasota County Democrats recommended that "Democratic candidates not participate in Sarasota Tiger Bay panels and that Democrats refrain from attending Tiger Bay events."

The statement singled out for criticism Sarasota attorney Morgan Bentley, Tiger Bay's Program Committee co-chair, who represents the Republican Club of South Sarasota County in a lawsuit against the America First Southwest Florida Caucus, and Board Member Cooper, a vice president at Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium who is running for a seat on the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Board.

North Port resident Mary Flynn O’Neill, a candidate for At-Large Seat 3 on the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board.
North Port resident Mary Flynn O’Neill, a candidate for At-Large Seat 3 on the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board.

Kuether claimed that Bentley said in a phone call he wanted to "expose" Mary Flynn O'Neill − the sister of far right Mike Flynn – as an extremist candidate for the hospital board before the primary election.

Bentley was incredulous at Kuether's statement and denied that Tiger Bay intentionally did not platform Democrats.

"This is a weird way to ask for a party chair. To just pick a fight − why are you picking a fight with a group that's trying to give your candidates more exposure? That's kind of crazy," Bentley told the Herald-Tribune.

Tiger Bay has just begun scheduling events for the 2024 election, including forums for the board that oversees the Sarasota Memorial Public Health System, the Sarasota County School Board, and both the city and county commissions.

Bentley said the group tried to "work around" the schedules of candidates who could not make specific dates. He also denied he told Kuether he wanted to "expose" Flynn O'Neill. Instead, Bentley said he wanted to platform the "full slate" of hospital board candidates who were part of an "interesting political movement."

Flynn O'Neill is part of a group of candidates vying to join the nine-member public hospital board with rhetoric that includes COVID-19 conspiracy theories and right-wing talking points.

"I think many people in the public are curious about what the heck is going on. So why wouldn't we want them on a panel?" Bentley said.

Contact Sarasota Herald-Tribune Local Government Reporter Christian Casale at ccasale@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @vanityhack.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Democrats call for boycott of Tiger Bay election events