Daytona Beach City Manager Jim Chisholm no longer in running for Sarasota's top municipal post

Photo from Daytona Beach city website / Daytona Beach's eight-year city manager is not leaving the World's Most Famous Beach, at least not for Sarasota, where he was among the top 3 vying for the same post there.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Jim Chisholm, Daytona Beach's city manager since 2004, may have made the final round of three for the same post in Sarasota, but after he failed to garner more than one vote Monday by that commission, he was no longer in the running. 

Sarasota officials are now looking to re-start their search process, seemingly uninpressed with the final big 3. Neither Chisholm nor the other two finalsts wowed the city commission there. The Sarasota Herald Tribune led off its online story after Monday's meeting making it clear officials there were far from wowed: "The City of Sarasota is desperate. But not that desperate."

The Sarasota newspaper quoted City Commissioner Shannon Snyder as saying of the choices, "I'm not voting for any of them."

Besides Chisholm, the other two vying to be Sarasota's municipal leader were Edward Mitchell, city administrator in West Palm Beach since 1999; and Thomas Barwin, village manager of Village of Oak Park, Ill. from 2006 until January of this year.

Sarasota officials were hoping one of the three would succeed Robert Bartolotta, who resigned under pressure in January "amid allegations that he and others violated public records and computer fraud laws," according to a story published in the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Chisholm, who is making nearly $172,000 annually here, could not be reached for comment late in the day Monday.