Hagen Brody spent five and a half years on the Sarasota City Commission, including a stint as mayor that landed him squarely in the middle of the pandemic's earliest, least understood weeks. He describes those months bluntly: no PPE, ventilators in short supply, and real conversations with the city's health director about converting a parking garage into overflow hospital space if Sarasota Memorial ran out of beds. City government does not get to shut down, he notes, since water, sanitation, police and 911 are essential services that had to keep running regardless.
Much of the conversation goes into how Sarasota's government actually works, a structure Brody says most residents never learn. The city runs on a commission-manager system: five elected commissioners, three by district and two, including the mayor's seat, at-large, who select the mayor from among themselves for staggered terms. Florida's Sunshine Law bars commissioners from discussing city business with each other outside of public meetings, a rule Brody argues protects against back-room dealing but slows the city down and exposes it to lawsuits the taxpayers ultimately fund through insurance. He remains an advocate for switching to an elected strong-mayor system, similar to Tampa or St. Petersburg, arguing it would create more direct accountability to voters.
Zoning as the quiet lever
Brody's proudest structural change was not glamorous: he helped move city elections onto the same cycle as state and federal races, which pushed turnout from 15-20 percent up toward 70-80 percent and broadened who commissioners had to answer to. He also points to zoning code changes he pushed to steer developers, who respond to financial incentive above all, toward building smaller, more inherently affordable units downtown rather than only large luxury condominiums aimed at wealthy retirees, a shift he believes was necessary to keep working- and middle-class families able to live in the city.
Roundabouts and a tennis courts assist
Asked for his take on the roundabouts, Brody breaks from the show's usual consensus and singles out the Mound Street roundabout near the Ringling Bridge as the one that actually improved traffic, explaining that the sculpture or art placed in the center of most roundabouts is intentional, designed to keep drivers' eyes forward rather than a design flaw. He also details helping bring a professional warm-up tennis tournament to Payne Park, working with philanthropist Elizabeth Moore, whom he name-checks as a future guest recommendation.
What you'll take away
- Sarasota runs on a commission-manager government with five elected commissioners who choose the mayor among themselves; Brody favors switching to an elected strong-mayor system
- Florida's Sunshine Law prevents commissioners from discussing city business outside public meetings, which Brody says limits corruption but slows decisions and invites costly lawsuits
- Moving city elections to align with state and federal cycles raised voter turnout from roughly 15-20 percent to 70-80 percent during Brody's tenure
- Zoning code changes Brody helped initiate pushed developers toward smaller, more affordable downtown units instead of only luxury condos for wealthy retirees
- Brody helped bring a professional warm-up tennis tournament to Payne Park, working with philanthropist Elizabeth Moore
“I never wanted to go into politics, but I wanted to go into public service.”
“Unless it's financially incentivized or advantageous for someone to build what you need them to build, they're not going to build it.”
Places mentioned: Downtown Sarasota, Payne Park, Mound Street roundabout, Ringling Bridge, St. Armands