Questions for Mike Moran

When it came to light earlier this month that three people running for office in Sarasota, all new to politics, had erred in accepting donations larger than what the county Charter allows, Commissioner Mike Moran didn't hesitate to condemn their acts:

“I find it outrageous that these candidates appear to be violating the very charter that they were running to protect,” Moran said in a statement. “It is clear they didn’t bother to read the rules of the charter, do not understand them, or have chosen to ignore them.” 

Mr. Moran now has some acts and omissions of his own to explain. 

A look into the Commissioner's public records reveals unpaid business taxes; unpaid intangible tax for three years; questionable and possibly illegal campaign contributions; undisclosed private debt, and the troubling appearance of multiple conflicts of interest within his campaign and Political Action Committee, or PAC, operators. 

Moran and Jack Brill demanded the Sheriff to investigate the Democratic candidates, who received contributions from their own party and its executive committee, all of which they reported to the Supervisor of Elections. Two candidates reported receiving $1,000 each; the third, reported $7,500, - for a total of $9,500 for all three candidates. (HT story 10.2.20)

Mr. Moran found the candidates' acceptance of money from their own party "outrageous." Those contributions however comply with State law, which allows up to $50,000 from parties to candidates. It turned out the party's donations violated a $200 limit peculiar to Sarasota County's home rule Charter.

The Democrats immediately acknowledged their errors and returned the contributions.

Questions about practices

Questions about certain of Mr. Moran's practices have now arisen.

According to the Herald Tribune of October 15, Mr. Moran last year made $100,000 from serving as executive director of a public/private agency that appears to use the credibility of public officials to market home improvement loans. 

Jim Ley

Before becoming PACE executive director -- apparently through recruitment efforts of former County Administrator Jim Ley -- Commissioner Moran voted to approve Sarasota County's working with PACE, the HT reported.

PACE falls under no regulatory authority; a Tampa Bay Times investigation showed that homeowners were not clearly warned of risking a "tax hit":

. . . many homeowners didn’t know their property tax bills could spike. Some PACE recipients in the Tampa Bay area risked losing their homes because they could not pay the hefty loans and thousands of dollars in interest. . . .One Brandon man’s annual tax bill jumped from $900 to $6,250.    TampaBay

Mr. Moran has reportedly helped shape the loan program which has ties to the powerful local builders' association lobbying group:

Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association serves as a mailbox for Florida PACE and holds a contractual agreement with the agency – an agreement that Moran helped shape. (HT)

The head of the Building Industry group, Jon Mast, serves on state boards and on the Sarasota Board of Zoning Appeals. The record of interrelationships of Mr. Moran's work on the PACE program raise conflict of interest questions. At least two Florida counties have broken relations with PACE, citing potential dangers and a lack of protection for consumers. 

The convoluted relationships extend further: Mr. Moran's accountant for PACE and another line of private business, Wendi Leach, also chairs the Florida Country PAC which has contributed more than $185,000 to his reelection campaign.

And the Herald Tribune reported that Commissioner Moran failed to pay business taxes due on his PACE directorship job.

Unpaid taxes, undisclosed debts

Soon after the HT story broke, new evidence emerged suggesting that Mr. Moran might face more to answer for:

According to public records cited by NoMoreMoran.com, Mr. Moran 

• not only failed to pay business taxes, but also reported no intangible taxes on two side businesses which account for hundreds of thousands of dollars of income;
• his campaign has received contributions from a 501(c)3 -- illegal in Florida;
• the Chair of the Florida Country PAC, Wendi Leach, is the subject of a federal election complaint alleging an illegal contribution from a foreign corporation, and 
• in public filings, Moran repeatedly failed to disclose private mortgage debt to a Sarasota businessman and political donor:

Arm's length Political Action Committee?

The connections and potential conflicts of interest thicken, as revealed by documented research into Mr. Moran's campaign financing.

PACs are supposed to have an "arms-length" relation to candidates*, yet as noted, Ms. Leach is Mr. Moran's employee in two private business ventures. Mr Moran's campaign treasurer, Eric Robinson, is also treasurer of the Florida Country PAC, which has taken in $185,000 from developers to reelect Mr. Moran. Robinson, who is involved in dozens of PACs that move anonymous money into various campaigns, recently was the subject of a Florida Election Commission complaint resolved in his favor..

For someone outraged by $9,500 of contributions to Democratic candidates, the record of Mr. Moran's actions while in public office raises troubling questions. Sarasota Republican Party Chair Jack Brill, who called for a criminal investigation into the Dems, has said nothing regarding the concerns surrounding Mr. Moran.

What does Mr. Moran have to say?

So far, Commissioner Moran has denied conflicts of interest regarding his role in PACE, but has said nothing publicly about the other issues.

The trail of public records leads to further questions involving large contributions from developers in other counties, and to how the redistricting effort of 2019, rushed through and challenged in court, cost taxpayers some $400,000 to protect Mr. Moran. His District 1 was gerrymandered to exclude voters from Newtown - the black, largely Democratic community. Newtown was removed, and two largely white conservative precincts were added to tip the balance in the Republican's favor.

Read more, with links to public records here: NoMoreMoran.

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*Regarding the relationship of PACs to candidate campaigns:

Florida Statute 106.011 (12)(a) states: “Independent expenditure” means an expenditure by a person for the purpose of expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate or the approval or rejection of an issue, which expenditure is not controlled by, coordinated with, or made upon consultation with, any candidate, political committee, or agent of such candidate or committee. An expenditure for such purpose by a person having a contract with the candidate, political committee, or agent of such candidate or committee in a given election period is not an independent expenditure.