Jodany Del Rosario-Arcadia, a 17-year-old Booker High School senior, spent months knocking on doors in the summer heat before the Sarasota County School Board election. She could not cast a ballot herself.

Del Rosario-Arcadia was part of a youth-driven organizing effort that helped propel three progressive-leaning candidates to strong finishes, Suncoast Searchlight reported.

Board's ICE Resolution and Discipline Policies Sparked Student Backlash

The shift came after years of contentious board actions. The board passed a resolution reaffirming cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, penalized student walkouts and removed anti-discrimination language from the student code of conduct, WUSF reported.

Those votes galvanized students. When School Board Chair Bridget Ziegler introduced the ICE measure in January, Del Rosario-Arcadia said a normally quiet meeting of the Booker High School Democrats was packed with students wanting to speak at the next board meeting.

"I'm a daughter of immigrants, and I was even scared," Del Rosario-Arcadia told Suncoast Searchlight.

Next Gen Democrats Ran a Paid Canvassing Operation

Sebastian Martinez, a 22-year-old Booker High alumnus and president of Sarasota Next Gen Democrats, founded the group in 2025. He attended his first school board meeting in 2020, troubled by a lack of textbooks in his criminal justice and psychology classes.

Next Gen Dems began canvassing in June, ramping up from two days a week to four by July. The group paid canvassers $60 for a three-hour shift rather than relying on volunteers.

Martinez described the operation as a get-out-the-vote machine, telling Suncoast Searchlight that canvassing "becomes more fun the more you do it, and the more friends you bring."

Retired Educators Formed a Multigenerational Coalition

The organizing was multigenerational. Carol Lerner, a retired educator who co-founded the local group Support Our Schools, joined Social Equity through Education, or SEE Alliance, organizing meetings over the past year with a small group of retired women. They met at The Fountain restaurant in downtown Sarasota and called themselves "the Fountaineers."

One member launched a project to send 7,000 handwritten postcards urging voters to support Mayberry, Tennimon and Glover. Lerner also assembled a voter guide distributed at community events.

SEE Alliance, founded as a school club in 2019 by Pine View High School graduate Zander Moricz, now operates as a nonprofit that brings in roughly $1 million in annual revenue, according to Suncoast Searchlight. The group coordinates regular calls and meetings that draw dozens of students to strategize ahead of board meetings.

Progressive Candidates Outraised Opponents Amid Low Turnout

All three progressive candidates outraised their opponents. Glover raised $135,946, Mayberry raised $78,670 and Tennimon raised $55,044 as of Aug. 13, WUSF reported. Countywide turnout was 32.69%, with 107,478 ballots counted across all 98 precincts, according to Your Observer.

On election night at Tamiami Tap, high school students who had campaigned for the candidates cheered as results came in. Avery Cole, a Booker High senior who organized with SEE Alliance, told the Sun on election night: "… Finally seeing two years of work, seeing results in a meaningful way — it feels great."

The District 1 runoff between Glover and Brandt is set for Nov. 3.