Not for sale. Not now. Not ever.

Dear Neighbor,

There's a question hiding on your mail ballot this summer, and it isn't really about me. It's this: who should your hospital answer to — you, or investors?

In 2013, this board did something unusual. It formally studied whether selling Sarasota Memorial would benefit taxpayers. The conclusion was unanimous: no. Your hospital is worth more in your hands than in anyone else's.

I want you to know where I stand, because the question is coming back. New state legislation now allows private, for-profit investors to purchase community hospitals like ours. I've spent forty years in business — I've chaired audit committees of NASDAQ companies, and I know exactly how investors think. They optimize for profit. That's their job. It's just not a job I'll ever let them do with the only hospital that delivers babies in Sarasota County.

As taxpayers, we support more than $100 million of this health system's budget every year. That buys you something no private owner will ever offer: open books, public meetings, and a board that answers to voters.

I'm one of the few members of that board with zero financial ties to the hospital — no salary, no pension, no PAC money behind me. My independence isn't a slogan. It's the whole point of the job.

Your ballot has arrived. This is the election that decides who's watching. Mark Brad Baker, and mail it back today.