Kelly Kirschner, a onetime Sarasota mayor with deep ties in Pinellas County, filed to run as one of five Democrats seeking to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan in the 16th Congressional District.
“At this moment in time, when people are tired of reality TV politics, culture wars and really a lack of any focus on addressing the serious problems that this country faces, there is this pent-up thirst for restoring some level of trust that we will have representative government in Washington, D.C.” Kirschner told the Herald-Tribune on June 1.
The recently redrawn congressional district includes all or portions of Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, DeSoto, Hardee and Polk counties.
Kirschner, 51, recently retired from a 13-year career as a vice president and dean at Eckerd College and now works as an independent consultant.
He was elected to the Sarasota City Commission, where he served from 2007 to 2011 and was the city’s youngest mayor from 2010 to 2011.
Kirschner points to that 2007 campaign, when he upended a well-financed incumbent, Danny Bilyeu, as proof he can win an underdog campaign.
Should Kirschner defeat four other Democrats — Jonathan Harris, Tamika Lykes, Glenn Pearson, and Jan Schneider — in the Aug. 18 primary he would then face an uphill battle to succeed Buchanan, a 10-term Republican.
Sarasota resident Sydney Gruters, vice president of advancement and executive director of the New College Foundation, is the heavy Republican favorite in a three-candidate field.
Gruters, who is married to State Sen. Joe Gruters, the Republican National Committee chairman, was urged to run for the seat by President Donald Trump.
Why does Kirschner want to run for Congress?
Kirschner said he wants to reassert the authority of Congress, “particularly of the House of Representatives, that’s the purse of this country.”
In recent years he said Congress has abdicated its level of oversight and control, which has negatively impacted working families, middle-class families and small- and medium-sized businesses.
Those negative impacts stem from what he called Trump’s use of ‘illegal’ tariffs, the refusal to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies and Congress’ failure to assert itself through the War Powers Act.
What’s unique about Kelly Kirschner?
Kirschner grew up working his family’s Manatee County citrus stand.
A graduate of Georgetown University and a Peace Corps volunteer, Kirschner later followed in the footsteps of his late father, Kerry Kirschner — a longtime executive director of the Argus Foundation who was both a Sarasota mayor and city commissioner — and was co-founder of the ManaSota nonprofit UnidosNow.
Last year, Kirschner also served as a member of the Herald-Tribune’s inaugural Citizen Advisory Committee.
More information can be found at kellykirschner.com.
Earle Kimel primarily covers local governments in Sarasota County as well as land development and environmental issues for the Herald-Tribune. Follow him on Facebook, and X. He can be reached by email at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Former Sarasota mayor files to run as a Democrat for Congress
Reporting by Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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By Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune | USA TODAY Network
