Kristina Sargent's path to running for Sarasota County Commission District 2 started with a two-week visit during COVID. A prosecutor in Baltimore at the time, she came to Sarasota, decided almost immediately she wanted to move, passed the Florida Bar, and relocated within a month. Five years later, she's on the primary ballot against incumbent Mark Smith, running as a managing partner at her law firm, Harris, Slossberg & Sargent.
Kristina's platform centers on infrastructure and stormwater, an issue she connects directly to the 2024 flooding that hit her own Bay of Isles neighborhood, including the death of a young girl pulled into a storm drain near her home. She argues the county has let older, lower-graded neighborhoods fall behind on stormwater capacity for two decades while new development, better positioned to modern code, escapes the worst flooding. She also pushes to streamline permitting, citing a study suggesting single-family residential permits could clear in two weeks if automated, and to redirect the county's affordable housing trust fund toward subsidizing local workers through public-private partnerships rather than only new construction.
On the campaign itself, Kristina addresses the financial gap directly: she's raised roughly half of what Mark Smith has, sent one mailer to his four or five, and argues the race has stayed unusually civil for local politics. She pushes back on claims she's beholden to developers, noting her $10,000 donation from developer Rex Jensen is smaller than the $53,000 Smith received from developers in his prior race. Her central contrast with Smith: his voting record shows him approving every budget increase brought to the commission, while the county carries $1.1 billion in bonded debt.
An Open Primary in District 2
Because no Democrat filed in the race, District 2's primary is open to any registered voter in the district regardless of party, a rarity Kristina notes hasn't happened there in over 25 years. Early voting begins the Saturday after this episode airs, with election day set for August 18, 2026.
Asked the show's signature question, Kristina says she loves Sarasota's roundabouts, with one exception: the ones that have since had traffic lights added, which she says defeats the purpose entirely.
What you'll take away
- Kristina Sargent is running as a Republican primary candidate for Sarasota County Commission District 2 against incumbent Mark Smith
- Her platform centers on fixing stormwater infrastructure in older neighborhoods and streamlining the county's permitting process
- She proposes redirecting the county's affordable housing trust fund toward subsidizing local workers through public-private partnerships
- District 2's primary is open to all registered voters regardless of party since no Democrat filed, with early voting starting soon after the episode airs and election day on August 18, 2026
- She contrasts her platform with Mark Smith's record of approving every county budget increase amid $1.1 billion in bonded debt
“I love roundabouts.”
“I don't love the roundabouts that now have lights because I feel like that completely defeated the purpose.”
Places mentioned: Bay of Isles, Downtown Sarasota