Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Voting in the Dark

Early voting in Sarasota County begins August 8, and Vote By Mail ballots are already out in the community. Yet with important public offices to be decided on August 18, where are our local media?

Mike Moran l, Alan Maio, r.


District 1 incumbent Mike Moran is running against Mike Hutchinson in the Republican Primary.





Constituents might recall a few things:

Mr. Moran  
  • Voted for the gerrymander ("redistricting") that moved black voters out of District 1 -- and white voters in;
  • Voted to approve Benderson's super-sized Siesta Promenade;
  • Voted to to allow hotels like the one Gary Kompothecras plans on Siesta Key;
  • Voted in 2017 for James Gabbert's dump at the Celery Fields.
Moran also
  • Claimed he didn't know about the rotting pipes that spilled a billion gallons of wastewater at the Bee Ridge Plant in District 1;
  • Instigated and voted for the amendment that makes it virtually impossible for residents to amend the County Charter;
  • Enjoys the backing of Carlos Beruff, Randy Benderson, Jim Gabbert, Pat Neal and other major developers.
If Moran prefers to avoid journalists who'd ask hard questions about his record, that's politics.

But wait - none of our media are asking those questions: No debates, forums, or Q & A's have been held or scheduled for the District 1 race. Is a sitting County Commissioner being excused from the public spotlight?

These are important races. We've seen Mike Moran in action. Not an endorsement, but where's the media on his primary opponent Mike Hutchinson?

In the absence of real journalism from the Herald Tribune, WWSB-Ch. 7, SRQ and the Observer Group, it's on us. Either we do our own research, or we're voting in the developer-sanctioned dark.






Friday, July 17, 2020

UPDATE: Who's funding your candidate?

Voters will make key decisions on August 18, when Republican voters in Sarasota cast ballots to decide which Republican candidate they want to run in the November 3 election for the County Commission seats in District 1 (northeast Sarasota) and District 5 (North Port/Englewood).

Among other factors in choosing, it's good to know who stands behind the candidate, who is funding him or her? No endorsements, but some facts:


DISTRICT 1



This information is very easy to find. Go to this page of the Supervisor of Elections site, click on a candidate's name, and you'll find the reports of each candidate on who gave them money. For example, here's a report from Mike Moran.

Moran's received over $47,000 so far for his 2020 campaign, and the developers have given a substantial share of that:




To compare, click on Mike Hutchinson's list of contributors. He has taken in $6,294.71 so far. He's loaned himself $30,000 to stay in the race.


DISTRICT 5

You can do the same in District 5.

Ron Cutsinger, a former board-appointee on the Planning Commission, has $55,000 so far. His list of contributors starts here. In addition to his own money, he's received backing from a number of builders and developers:


Recently Cutsinger has also received support from the Boone family, whose Venice law firm does a good deal of legal work for developers. Here's part of July 2020's list:


His Republican Primary opponent Christopher Hanks has $17,605. Along with land owners and Realtors show up the Benderson name also appears in his list. In August 2019, the West Villages and related developer contributors show up:




Randy Benderson



And in January 2020, the Benderson family came aboard the Hanks campaign with donations totaling $800:


Chris Hanks January 2020 donors - partial list

You can do the same research for the Democratic candidates, but they're not running in this Republican Primary for the BCC.

The winners of the Republican BCC Primary will face Democrats in the fall: Mark Pienkos in District 1, and Alice White in District 5.

Broader perspective


A broader look at developer influence over the last four years would include these contributors to our County Commissioners:



As well as these developer-donors to our School Board members:


One more thing about the upcoming elections . . .


The "Primary" for Sheriff and School Board is not in fact a Primary, but a final election. More about that here.

It's very important to vote on Aug. 18 - to do that, you need to register by July 20, which is coming right up. All the information you need to learn how to register, to change party affiliation, voting districts and more can be found at the nonpartisan Citizens for District Power site.


Dark Money has no face



Citizens United meets
Main Street


Several years ago, Sarasota advocate Cathy Antunes began probing the sources and destinations of large sums of money coming into Sarasota and Manatee elections.

Tracing so much money through faceless PACs has taken her some time.

Now she's sharing this information in an easy-to-read Flipbook format. The text is clear and has plenty of illustrative diagrams. People bandy about the term "corruption." but Cathy knows how to spell it out.

Citizens United meets Main Street

Please read "Citizens United meets Main Street," share, and vote wisely.

Thank you,

Citizens for District Power


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Friday, July 10, 2020

Are you in?

It might come as news that Sarasota County's August 18 "Primary" is not a Primary. For both Sheriff and School Board, it's the entire election. Voting is open to all registered voters. Learn why here.

To vote on Aug. 18, you must be registered with the Supervisor of Elections. If you've not already done so, the deadline is July 20. Where to begin? Citizens for District Power can help you register, apply to vote by mail, even change party affiliation. It clarifies which districts are where, who's running in each, and why candidates unburdened by piles of developer cash have for once a real chance. Do have a look.

On the other hand, for the Board of County Commissioners, August 18 is a real Primary, for Republican voters in districts 1 & 5 only. A bit of an update on who's backing whom in these races here.

Single member districts can be a game changer - if enough of us are in the game.


Citizens for District Power