Sarasota, FLVoter Guide 2026 · not a ballot

Sarasota City Commission At-Large · Nov 3, 2026

Jen Ahearn-Koch

Candidate for City Commission At-Large (incumbent)

3 candidates · 2 seats11 sourced positions

Jen Ahearn-Koch, the incumbent, is running for Sarasota City Commission At-Large in the Nov 3, 2026 election; 3 candidates are running for 2 seats.

Report an error

Voter registration deadline · Mon, Oct 5, 2026

Today

Incumbent at-large city commissioner and marketing consultant who runs JAK Consults. She was first elected to the commission in 2017 and spent six years on the city Planning Board.

Endorsed by
Lists the City of Sarasota Retired Firefighters as an endorser. Ballotpedia · Jul 25, 2026
Campaign website
voteforjen.org

Get your Sarasota ballot cheat-sheet

Candidates, positions and dates in one email, sent now.

One email now. We only email again if you ask. No ads, never sold.

Yevgeny Khodorkovsky and Rob Rominiecki were eliminated in the Aug. 18 first election; Jen Ahearn-Koch, Flo Entler and John Harshman advanced. City of Sarasota · Aug 18, 2026

Jen Ahearn-Koch is the only incumbent in the race. Your Observer · Aug 18, 2026

Where Jen Ahearn-Koch stands: positions on the record

Downtown parking3 sourced positions

  • Moved a motion directing staff to move forward with higher citation fees and extended parking hours; it carried 5-0 (Mar. 23, 2026).

    Council voteCity of Sarasota · Mar 23, 2026

  • Pushed to put parking on the Aug. 3 agenda; the commission then voted unanimously to suspend the extended parking hours (Aug. 2026).

    Council voteSarasota Magazine · Aug 4, 2026

  • Said of the frustration over the parking changes that it is on the commission.

    “That's on us. That's on this commission.”

    Own statement10 Tampa Bay

Rezoning2 sourced positions
Demolition appeal1 sourced position
City property purchases1 sourced position

  • Voted no on directing staff to move forward with an option agreement for the 1st Street Credit Union property at 1558 1st Street (passed 4-1, Apr. 2026).

    Council voteCity of Sarasota · Apr 6, 2026

Noise2 sourced positions

  • Made the motion to hire a sound consultant to study maximum decibel levels and possible noise zones; it passed unanimously (Dec. 1, 2025).

    Council voteSarasota News Leader

  • Seconded a motion to remove the 100 dBA and 105 dBC language from the Special Events Sound Permit; it failed 2-3 (Apr. 2026).

    Council voteCity of Sarasota · Apr 20, 2026

Density and growth1 sourced position

  • Says developers get the density and residents get the traffic, and calls for traffic impact analysis before projects are approved.

    “Developers get the density. Residents get the traffic.”

    Own statementVote for Jen Ahearn-Koch

Development approvals1 sourced position

  • Opposes expanding administrative-only development approval, which her survey describes as staff approval with no public hearing and no commission vote.

    “development approval is a three-legged stool. Take out the citizens and it falls.”

    Own statementBallotpedia · Jul 25, 2026

Also running for City Commission At-Large

All 3 Sarasota candidates →

Every claim here links to its source and was checked against it before publishing. How this guide works →

Take your ballot with you

Who is on your ballot, where each candidate stands, and the dates that matter, in one email you can carry to the polls. Sent right now.

One email now. We only email again if you ask. No ads, never sold.

See something wrong? Report an error

Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.