Former business group leader, mayor dies at 73

Kerry Kirschner’s decades-long career bridged the public and private sectors. His role as a dad also defined his life.

By Business Observer Staff
| 2:44 p.m. March 5, 2020
| 0 Free Articles Remaining!

File. Kerry Kirschner died March 4 after an illness. He was 73.

Manatee-Sarasota

He never had a cell phone. He only used email begrudgingly.

But what Kerry Kirschner lacked in modern technology, he made up for with his thick Rolodex, ability to engage in civil discourse with all comers, policy wonkiness and deep-rooted passion for Sarasota. A two-term mayor of Sarasota and longtime leader of the Argus Foundation, a pro-business group, Kirschner used all those traits — sans the modern-day gadgets — to help transform his adopted hometown.