After 17 months and three interim city managers following Marlon Brown's October 2024 retirement, Sarasota has unanimously selected Karie Friling as its next city manager — and its first woman to hold the post. Five finalists visited the city February 23-24 for a two-day process that included a community meet-and-greet, with three DSCA board members participating in the interviews. The commission wasted no time, voting unanimously on February 27. Interim city manager Jennifer Jorgensen, who also serves as Director of Government Affairs, expects her tenure in the role to be a quite short one.