NO ONE OVER THE YEARS KNOWS MORE ABOUT THE SARASOTA/MANATEE POLITICAL SCENE THAN THE SARASOTA PHOENIX/NO LOCAL MEDIA "VETS" AREA POLITICANS LIKE THE SARASOTA PHOENIX
IVELL AND BRANDT MAX GOODMAN MOUTPIECES FOR GRUTERS TURNS DEBATE INTO AN EMBARASAING DEBACLE
AS
GRUTERS POLITICAL OPERATIVE GOODMAN HIDES GRUTERS FROM A REAL DEBATE WITH EDDIE SPIER
AS GOODMAN PACKAGES GRUTERS
The Max Goodman packaged make-over of Sydney Gruters
Photography by Alex Stafford, Hair by Brian Goetz, Make-Up by Bethany Holmstrom of Fresh Salon & Spa.
The Chairman of the loal Sarasota Rpublican Party--Jack Brill
ONLY AT BRILL CONTROLLED EVENTS ARE POLICE NEEDED TO KEEP PRESS AWAY FROM LOCAL POLITICAL OPERATIVE GOODMAN CANDIDATES LIKE GRUTERS AND BRANDT
Last Friday afternoon, an event billed as a major Republican primary debate was held at Michael’s on East in Sarasota, a venue known for drawing the city’s social elite. The forum was intended to help select the Republican candidate who would face the Democrat for Vern Buchanan’s U.S. House District 16 seat in Florida.
The event had police officers from SPD stationed outside and along the back wall of the room, and attendees were warned that anyone who violated the rules would be escorted out
An Eddie Speir supporter dressed in an American Revolutionary War-style patriot uniform and calling himself a “Winter Soldier” was arrested by SPD officers and taken to jail.
Michaels on East is the same venue where Bishop Henry Porter once mingled with Sarasota’s social elite while, for more than 30 years, molesting and raping children at his Westcoast Church and School for Human Development in downtown Sarasota, just blocks from SPD headquarters.
No SPD police officers ever kept Porter from attending events at Michaels on East even though Porter for over 30 years was under investigation fro moesting and raping children blocks away from SPD headquarters.
Ramirez
The debate was moderated by Linda Ivell, president of the Sarasota County Republican Women’s Club. The same organization that held a May 3, 2025, meeting at Michael’s on East where, with support from Sarasota County Republican Party Chairman Jack Brill, Ivell—described as an ally of Pat Neal, Carlos Beruff, and Randy Benderson—defeated Lourdes Ramirez for club president.
Brandt
Brill also recruited Heide Brandt as the organization’s vice president, despite Brandt’s role as managing member of Pleasure Texting LLC, a New York City-based company that advertises adult content services.
Brill recruited Ivell and Brandt to replace Ramirez, who had served six years as president of Sarasota’s largest Republican club, doubled its membership, and left more than $80,000 in its treasury.
Brill could care less about Ramirez’s record of success, Brill was only interested in replacing anyone who failed to support candidates favored by Pat Neal and his group of “Pay-to-Play” developers.
Ivell, a Manatee County resident serving as president of a Sarasota organization, sells real estate for Carlos Beruff’s controversial Aqua by the Bay development. The 529-acre Bradenton project along Sarasota Bay includes 510 houses, 2,384 multifamily units, and 78,000 square feet of commercial space, which critics say would create severe traffic problems.
Ivell moved from Pasco County to Manatee County a few years ago and soon sought to become Manatee County Republican state committeewoman. Members rejected the bid, placing her sixth out of six candidates.
Ivell was one of 52 new members, who joined the women’s club a few weeks before the election in March of 2025. The same March that coincidently another Neal Gang member, Randy Benderson donated $10,000 to Brill’s SREC.
Among the 52 people who joined with Ivel and Brandt were Teresa Mast and Vanessa Baugh. The duo are members of Ivell and Brant political circle of politicians, who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from Beruff, Benderson, Pat Neal, and Rex Jensen to win county commission seats in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
Ivel, Baugh, Mast and Brandt are so deep in the Brill/Beruff Neal/Benderson/Rex Jensen pockets, they need flashlights to get out.
Manatee County voters ran Baugh out of Manatee County, and she has moved to Sarasota County where she has become part of Team Brill and Gruters.
Brill’s recruitment of Ivell, a Manatee County resident seeking to lead a Sarasota County club, Brandt as vice president, and 50 other women who attended their first—and apparently only—club meeting to remove Ramirez is one reason the Brill-led local Republican Party is divided and, according to a recent poll, at risk of losing the Sarasota County School Board.
That could only happen with the Brill led Sarasota County Republican Party, where a recent poll suggests Democrats may take control of the Sarasota County School Board because of Brill’s political ineptness.
Brandt arrived with Ivell and the other 50 members Brill recruited and became vice president of the Brill-controlled organization.
It is scandalous and shameful that Ivell and Brill appear unconcerned that their vice president, Brandt, is the managing member of Pleasure Texting LLC, a New York-based company that advertises adult content services. Active since 2012, the company promotes explicit messaging apps aimed at teenagers and adults using sexually suggestive imagery.
Only in Sarasota could Brandt serve as vicepresident of the organization hosting this event, become PTO president of Southside Elementary School, and run for the Sarasota County School Board.
It can only happen in Sarasota County that Brandt can become a major player in Sarasota after shortly parachuting recently into Sarasota from New York City with her multi-millionaire husband Jerry Wells. Only in Sarasota can Wells on arriving in Sarasota decided to run for the City of Sarasota Commission. Wells finished last.
Only in Sarasota can a major local media outlet—The Sarasota Observer endorse Brandt for the Sarasota Cout School Board, who is the managing member of Pleasure Texting LLC, the New York-based company that advertises adult content services.
Only in Sarasota could Brill and Joe Gruters, husband of Sydney Gruters and chairman of the Republican National Committee, endorse Brandt for the School Board.
Local Florida State Representative Fiona McFarland also endorsed Brandt, the managing member of Pleasure Texting LLC.
DeWitt
It is scandalous that Brill, Gruters, and McFarland endorsed Brandt, the managing member of Pleasure Texting LLC, a New York-based company that advertises adult content services, over Teresa DeWitt, the most qualified candidate for the Sarasota County School Board.
It is equally scandalous that political operative Goodman would take Brandt as a client, despite her lack of qualifications for the School Board, over the most qualified candidate DeWitt.
THE DEBATE WAS A MAX GOODMAN STATGED EVENT CONTROLLED BY TWO GOODMAN AGENTS--IVELL AND BRANT
A TOTAL DISGRACE
The debate was moderated by Brill appointee Ivell and hosted by an organization whose vice president is the managing member of Pleasure Texting LLC, a New York-based company that advertises adult content services and promotes explicit messaging apps targeting teenagers and adults with sexually suggestive imagery.
Moderated by Ivell while Brandt watched fromthe front row, the debate featured Sydney Gruters, Ed Pope, and Eddie Speir, the three Republican candidates seeking to succeed Vern Buchanan as the U.S. representative for Florida’s 16th District.
It was hardly a true debate. Instead, itappeared to be a staged event organized by Gruters political operative Max Goodman and moderated by Ivell, with softball questions reportedly selected by Goodman and provided to Gruters in advance.
Only media approved by Ivel and Brandt were allowed into the event, and any outlet seeking to record video was barred. The Sarasota Phoenix, along with other media representatives, was denied entry and unable to film or report on as a Goodman-staged event.
ONE CANOT MAKE THIS MAX GOODMAN SHIT SHOW UP
One attendee at the event made the following comments concerning this Goodman staged event:
I'm still trying to decide whether I attended an actual candidate forum or had some freak Friday experience where I somehow got dropped back into the first day of middle school.
There were supporters for both Gruters and Speir candidates outside, before the start of the event- one Speir supporter had his sign confiscated and was arrested, while the others remained outside with their campaign shirts and signs until after the event ended.
I have attended a lot of fundraisers, meetings, and candidate forums over the last year, and this one was completely different.
From the moment we walked in, the atmosphere felt... heavy, very unwelcoming.
Before it even started, multiple announcements of the rules repeatedly made by the club president/ moderator. (Ivel was the moderator).
No recording. No commentary. No interruptions.
The tone in which they were delivered wasn’t any easier to digest.
We were told there were only two pre-approved individuals, who could record. Police officers were outside and lined the back wall of the room and we were told “anyone breaking our rules would be escorted out.”
The moderator then told us she had already authorized officers to remove people without any further discussion.
In another reminder announcement she ended with "I make the rules, and I have the final say."
Before it even officially started, I began to wonder if bathroom breaks required moderator approval.
Pretty eye opening to see how different the experience seemed depending on WHO you were.
I was told by someone they politely asked if they could take a photo and they were told no. Meanwhile, members of the hosting club were gathered at the front of the room taking photos together, smiling, hugging, and catching up.
At the check-in line, I watched a very well-known member of the political community (Kevin Wright) ask if he could record.
He was told no unless he had a pass.
He simply said "okay, then I will just leave” and left without causing a scene. Yet those two event hosts he spoke too decided to be unprofessional by having rude remarks and commentary about him after he walked away.
One of those led the pledge of Allegiance.
For the entire event, The VP of the club (Brandt) walked around the tables - watching from every angle- looking for anyone recording or ready to flag an officer quickly to the spot they would need to be if a rule was broken.
It was extremely uncomfortable.
The audience couldn't ask questions directly. Every question had to be written on an index card prior to the start and screened and sorted first.
Eddie Speir was cut off multiple times-
Even having moderator threatened to remove him.
She even asked if they would need to take his phone away (that he was reading from) if he refused to turn it off! After he said he has been able to have it at any other event and a tense back and forth- they started back up again.
Knowing this was the only forum where Sydney Gruters attended with Spier made me pay closer attention. By the end - I can confidently say it felt like a glorified pep rally where the moderator took great pleasure in trying to humiliate one candidate (Spier) on stage. I can’t even believe the president invited anyone to join them or help volunteer.
What does disappoint me the most is that no one there was trying to cause problems.
They were simply trying to do what we always encourage citizens to do: show up, pay attention, ask questions, and become informed voters.
Unfortunately, I did not leave feeling like that effort was valued whatsoever.
Instead, I left feeling like ordinary citizens were viewed as something to manage rather than people to educate or empower.
You can read every Facebook post and campaign mailer in the world, but nothing compares to being in that room.
Sometimes it's not what is said that teaches you the most- Sometimes it's the atmosphere.
And today, the atmosphere spoke volumes.
In this narrative what more does anyone need to know about this so-called debate, other than a staged event organized by Sydney Gruters political operative Max Goodman?
What more does anyone need to know about this so-called debate organized by Goodman, a Sydney Gruters political operative, at a venue that was not even located in District 16?
What more does anyone need to know about this so-called debate thathad police officers from SPD were stationed outside and along the back wall of the room, and attendees were warned that anyone who violated the rules would be escorted out.
What more does anyone need to know about this so-called debate During the debate that had a Eddie Speir supporter dressed in an American Revolutionary War-style patriot uniform and calling himself a “Winter Soldier” was arrested by SPD officers and taken to jail.
What more does anyone need to know about this so-called debate that had an organization hosting the event whose vice president is the managing member of Pleasure Texting LLC, a New York-based company that advertises adult content services and promotes explicit messaging apps targeting teenagers and adults with sexually suggestive imagery.
A Brandt endorsed candidate for the Sarasota County School Board endorsed by Brill and Sydney Gutrs husband, who is the Chairman of the National Republican Committee, Joe Gruters.