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Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
NEWS Infinity project brings new development. PAGE 3A
OUR TOWN
free • THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013
DIVERSIONS
NEIGHBORHOOD
One of Sarasota’s most legendary homes continues to dazzle. INSIDE
Oceanview Publishing keeps mystery alive on Longboat Key. PAGE 1B
GENERAL ELECTION 2013
by Kurt Schultheis | Managing Editor
‘We Won ’Em All!’ Gans narrowly beats Pastor by 27 votes. Brown and Younger retain seats. Election Totals
Courtesy photos
Ron Mulchey and Jack Wilson
+ Google leads to hangout at Mar Vista A recent reunion at Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant & Pub was 75 years in the making. Longboat Key resident Jack Wilson met up with his childhood friend and neighbor, Ron Mulchey, and their wives after finding his long-lost friend through Google. Wilson and Mulchey were born and raised in a workingclass district of Toronto. Over a long lunch, they reminisced about the old days. Their neighborhood was full of children, and they commonly played outside until the streetlights went on at night. Mulchey was visiting the Fort Myers area. “I’ve always thought it was a pity that friends lose touch,” Wilson wrote in an email to the Longboat Observer. “Thank goodness for Google.”
+ Simondses make new Outback friend Longboat Key residents Warren and Kathleen Simonds just returned from a land down under. They took a 40-day trip to Australia, including the island of Tasmania, New Zealand and Bali. Here, they’re pictured with a koala at the Australia Zoo outside of Brisbane, which the late Steve Irwin made famous.
OUR TOWN / PAGE 13A
GROSSMAN 1,094
BROWN 1,395
District 1 Race Vote totals % ✓Jim Brown 1,395 56.0 Larry Grossman 1,094 44.0
PASTOR 1,235
GANS 1,262
At-Large Race ✓ Terry Gans Irwin Pastor
1,262 50.5 1,235 49.5
Kurt Schultheis
Mayor Jim Brown and Commissioners Phill Younger and Terry Gans celebrate with supporters Tuesday night at the Longboat Key Hilton Beachfront Resort after being re-elected. “I won,” Commissioner Terry Gans typed in a text message to his sons. “What, the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections is reporting you lost by 10 votes?” one son replied. Gans, though, was right: At 7:25 p.m. Tuesday, he learned in a phone call from Town Clerk Trish Granger he had held onto his Longboat Key Town Commission seat by just 27 votes. Gans, who refused to go into a party with his fellow commissioners until he learned the results, was sitting in his car in the parking lot of the Longboat Key Hilton Beachfront Resort with his wife, Diane, when Granger’s phone call came. The results his son read didn’t include the Manatee County portion of the Key, which chose Gans for the seat. “For a moment, my heart stopped,” Gans said. “I texted him back and told him I’m glad he
JALESKI 1,000
YOUNGER 1,479
At-Large Race ✓ Phill Younger 1,479 59.7 Gene Jaleski 1,000 40.3
Robin Hartill
Supporter Jim Spencer campaigns with challengers Larry Grossman and Gene Jaleski on Election Day outside Longboat Key Town Hall. didn’t give me that news 10 minutes earlier.” Gans received 50.54% of the vote, or 1,262 votes, compared to challenger Irwin Pastor’s 49.46%, or 1,235 votes. Mayor Jim Brown and Com-
missioner Phill Younger also kept their commission seats, but they had the luxury of being informed they won by three-digit vote margins. Brown won a third term in the District 4 seat by 301 votes over challenger Larry Grossman.
Younger won a second term in his at-large seat by 479 votes over challenger Gene Jaleski. Brown was the first to receive the news from Granger. After the phone call, he ran back into a second-floor dining room at the Hilton that overlooks the Gulf shouting, “We won ’em all!” “We couldn’t have done this without everyone’s support,” Brown said. “The voters have spoken.” Younger was so ecstatic about
SEE ELECTION / PAGE 2A
INDEX Briefs....................4A Calendar............ 18A
Classifieds ........ 17B Crossword.......... 16B
Neighborhood...... 1B Opinion.................8A
Real Estate........ 10B Weather............. 16B
Vol. 35, No. 34 | Three sections YourObserver.com