Observations of the Sarasota County Commission Board featuring District 4
It will stun you
By Julie London
Throughout the past two years, I’ve had intermittent requests to blog about the Sarasota County Commission Board Meetings. I declined simply because there wasn’t time. I followed the meetings, sometimes online, but I had too much on my plate.
Press forward to today, and here I am - actually attending these meetings in person, because I’m running for a commission seat in District 4.
The District 4 map stretches from south of Bee Ridge Road to Border Rd in N. Venice. It stretches quite a bit east, once you hit Clark Road.
There will be a run-off in August between two opponents, the incumbent Joe Neunder and Jim DeNiro. Both have wonky campaign contributions, including PAC dollars from developers (sheesh!) and contractors. It’s been revealed that DeNiro, who had an career in law enforcement, has family members handing $8000.00 in campaign contributions. Who is his family? His brother-in-law, John LaCivita, is the President and CEO of Willis Smith Construction.
Willis Smith, with the approval of the county board members, has built the county’s fire stations, sheriff’s support facility, medical examiner’s office, libraries, and parks.
Supporters still say he’s a man of integrity, as his signs read: Stop Overdevelopment. No irony there, right?
Neunder’s contributions record doesn’t read any better. He’s still raking in money from Neal, with Florida Politics writing: “Current campaign finance records show developers are once again helping bankroll the pro-Neunder effort. And Neunder’s own message asks voters to believe he is not the developer candidate.”
He accepted campaign funds from the seller of the Boatyard property before and after an overbloated deal went through for the county to buy it.
You can’t make this stuff up and it makes me glad that I’m running.
Oh, the pain!
Let me tell you which voters are going to have to go through a pain worse than a pulled tooth without Novocain, having a baby or passing a kidney stone in District 4. It’s the Republicans. Voting for someone other than an (R) after the name is not going to be easy, but there’s no choice when your side is being funded by Neal.
Without the blink of an eye, residents voted in Mike Moran (R) as the new county tax collector, despite his alleged misuse of taxpayer dollars during a trip to Las Vegas. Upon election, Moran altered the fee structure, meaning the county no longer receives the $18 million to $20 million in excess fees that were historically remitted to the county coffers.
Then he transferred $2 million of taxpayer dollars that were to go to public schools to his office. The money was returned, but a lawsuit is still pending. The county board had approved of this transfer, but three of the five admitted a mistake was made.
I hope the District 4 Republicans who are on the fence have learned from a blind or hopeful allegiance. When they show you who they are, believe them.
This is unbelievable
Look at this unanimous vote from a board that hasn’t seen a Democrat serving since 1966: The county is paying Neal $15 million to build a road through a rural dead-end portion of Manasota Beach Road. County Commissioners have not paid for an independent environmental study, outside of Neal’s own choosing. My heart is broken for the homeowners, and you bet, I’ll be attending their protest.
There has been no checks and balances, which means this incestuous relationship among board members turns a blind eye to another’s possible corruption. They’re in it to protect each other, not the people they represent.
Clean Up in Aisle 2027 for Four Years
It looks like it’s going to take a rookie to clean up the horrific mess that this commission has left in flooded, moldy tatters. These one-time rookies themselves. who are now sitting on the board, have admittedly screwed up the county’s budget. Now that Sarasota is at a tipping point, they want to fix it. They created this mess and now want to get re-elected?
Here’s what Florida Politics wrote about our campaign:
Julie London is leaning hard into the “watchdog” brand in her campaign for Sarasota County Commission District 4, pitching herself as a Democrat focused on neighborhood character, affordability, public schools, environmental protection and resistance to developer influence.
A campaign graphic now circulating online says London opposes “AI data centers,” promises to “follow the people, not the money,” and calls for “checks and balances,” noting she would be the only Democrat to serve on the Commission since 1970.
The race is for the seat currently held by Joe Neunder, who represents District 4 on the five-member Commission. Sarasota remains tough terrain for Democrats, with Republicans holding a sizable registration advantage countywide and dominating the Commission.
But London’s messaging aims squarely at local-growth anxieties: infrastructure, neighborhood charm, affordability, taxpayer stewardship and protecting “real people from people with power.” That makes her campaign less a national partisan play than a test of whether slow-growth and watchdog politics can still break through in deep-red Sarasota County.
After that kidney stone passes, nothing will ever feel so good for Our Sarasota.
Julie’s election takes place on November 3, 2026. For more information, her Campaign Facebook page is here.
The website: www.votejulielondon.com will be up next week.
To contribute, click here
You can also mail a check to: Julie London, Campaign, P. O. Box 20006, Sarasota, FL 34231
Here’s our QR code:
(We obviously will not be accepting any funds from developers or those that could cause a conflict of interest. Let’s prove that it’s people first over big money.)
A big thank you for those that contributed to our campaign.
We wish former Orlando Police Chief and former Gubernatorial Candidate Jerry Demings a speedy healthy outcome as he battles health issues.
Coming this weekend! The Good Neighbor Project is in full swing! We have the details. And, like all of you, we enjoy the League of Women Voters Report Card as they grade the past Sarasota County School Board Meeting.
Go bulldoze 'em, Julie!
You tell 'em, Julie. A female David to those *^@# Goliaths.