Candidate: Bill Furst

With over 49 years of experience in the Florida Real Estate, Bill began his real estate career in 1974 appraising parcels in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade Counties that were being taken for the construction of Interstate 95.

Bill is a licensed Real Estate Broker and Building Contractor. He has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Realtors & the Florida Association of Realtors continuously since 1998.

Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Bill graduated from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, where Bill & Darla met. They celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary last November. In 1990 they sold their real estate company on the east coast of Florida and moved to Sarasota.

Bill holds a Coast Guard Captains license and is a pilot. He enjoys hiking in Tennessee near their family home. Bill is also an avid runner, and has completed more than 25 marathons, including three running’s of the Boston Marathon.  

Bill and Darla have two daughters, both graduates of Riverview High School. Their oldest daughter, Jessica, earned her law degree at the University of Florida and practices Election Law in Washington DC, their youngest, Emily earned a master’s degree at the University of Tennessee and works for teen court in Sarasota.

Bill's campaign theme in 2008 was to appraise property at the lowest level the state will approve so that no one is overtaxed. Every year the state of Florida reviews every property appraisers tax roll to determine how close to 100% of market value they are. Sarasota's roll is always among the lowest in the state. The state of Florida approved our 2023 tax roll saying we appraised at 90.2% of value and were the lowest of all 67 counties