Protect Sarasota County’s Future
Robin Williams is running for Sarasota County Charter Review Board, District 4, to protect our quality of life, strengthen citizen oversight, and bring balance to county government.
District 4 Candidate • Elected Countywide
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Why She’s Running
Sarasota County is at a crossroads. Rapid growth and development are putting increasing pressure on our infrastructure, environment, and quality of life. Williams is running for the Charter Review Board because residents deserve a strong voice in how our county grows and how our Charter protects the community we call home.
Williams believes in protecting our environment, stopping overdevelopment, making Sarasota County affordable again, and putting Sarasota County residents ahead of special interests.
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Priorities for the Sarasota County
Safeguard Our Schools
Ensure all our students have the right to an excellent, fully funded public education and give parents the right to access affordable, quality childcare.
Utilize Renewable Energy
Phase out fossil fuels and go solar.
Keep Sarasota Memorial Public
Guarantee Sarasota Memorial remains a public hospital with dedicated county funding.
Give Citizens a Voice
Make it easier for residents to bring meaningful referendums before voters.
Make Sarasota Affordable
Restrict percentage increases for homeowner insurance and rental lease renewals.
Oppose High Risk Development
Stop Data Centers, AI infrastructure, and nuclear power plants, which threaten our environment and pose an existential threat.
Protecting Sarasota County from High-Impact Development
Sarasota County is Already Facing This Decision.
In 2026, Sarasota County received interest in developing a large-scale data center along Cattlemen Road. These facilities require enormous amounts of electricity and water while creating new demands on local infrastructure. County commissioners responded by placing a 12-month pause on large-scale data center applications while the county studies their potential impacts.
Currently in the city of North Port, there is an application moving forward to place an 896,000-square-foot data center on approximately 112 acres. At the county level, we need a long-term moratorium on data centers. As we have learned in recent weeks, AI poses an existential threat. It is virtually unregulated, and until such time as it can be tightly regulated with failsafe safeguards, we should not be constructing data centers. Even with tight regulation of AI itself, the physical data centers themselves pose serious risks to our fragile, already burdened ecosystem. Florida’s limestone geology is extremely porous and soaks up contaminants like a sponge. Data centers releasing any acidic waste can dissolve limestone. Sinkholes are an ever-present risk. We have a high water table, and rising sea levels can contaminate our freshwater supply in addition to other flooding issues, and data centers use up huge amounts of potable water.
Total campaign contributions from AI and data center interests in Florida alone have exceeded $22 million, with money also coming in from the Anthropic-funded PAC Public First Action.
Williams supports permanently banning AI data centers and AI infrastructure unless and until they can be proven to have no negative consequences whatsoever, including impacts on Sarasota County’s water, land, air, wildlife, inhabitants, and other natural resources.
In a county already strained by overdevelopment, unnecessary development should not come at any environmental or human cost.
Data Centers Aren’t the Only Concern
Decisions made in Tallahassee can determine how much power Sarasota County has to protect its own residents, water, land, and environment. Florida’s preemption laws prevent local governments from adopting many of the protections their own residents want.
At the same time, powerful interests tied to AI and large-scale data centers, phosphate mining, and the energy industry pushing nuclear power and another natural gas pipeline have poured tens of millions of dollars into backing one gubernatorial candidate and certain state legislators this election cycle. This is pay-to-play, ensuring those elected will allow construction despite citizen opposition.
Williams, who won't accept corporate campaign donations, will lobby Tallahassee to repeal harmful preemption laws. Sarasota County’s future should be decided by the people who live here, not by corporate interests influencing the governor and legislators.
Why the Charter Review Board Matters
Sarasota County’s Charter Review Board has the power to propose changes to the County Charter and send those changes directly to voters. Its decisions can affect how county government operates, how citizen protections are preserved, and how residents shape Sarasota County’s future.
Why This Race Matters
District 4 • Elected Countywide
Although Charter Review Board candidates run from one of Sarasota County’s five districts, every Charter Review Board member is elected countywide. That means voters throughout Sarasota County will have the opportunity to vote in Williams’s District 4 race.
One Party Holding Every Seat is Not Representative
Sarasota County’s Charter Review Board is supposed to represent the citizens of Sarasota County. Yet all 10 current members are from one party, while over 50% of registered voters are registered with other parties or have no party affiliation. Those residents deserve a voice, too.
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Meet Robin Williams
Williams is a retired biology and environmental science teacher, longtime public education advocate, community volunteer, and life member of Suncoast NEA-Retired.
Her background in science and education has shaped her commitment to protecting Sarasota County’s environment, strengthening public participation in local government, and preserving the quality of life that makes the Suncoast unique.
She is running for the Sarasota County Charter Review Board, District 4, to bring an independent voice and science-based perspective to decisions that will shape the county’s future.
Connect with Williams
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