
NO ONE KNOWS MORE ABOUT THE SARASOTA/MANATEE POLITICAL SCENE THAN THE SARASOTA PHOENIX

Donalds and Neal
NEAL STUFFS DONALDS IN HIS POCKET WITH A $3.1 MILLION FUNDRAISER AT LAKEWOOD RANCH FUND RAISER
Local “Pay to Play” developer Pat Neal made it official on Thursday (5/30/26) that Florida Governor candidate Byron Donalds is stuffed deep in Neal’s and his “Pay to Play” cronies’ pockets, as Neal put together a fund raiser that raised over 3.1 million for Donalds.
The fundraiser was held at the Grove in Lakewood Ranch and unless one contributed at least $3,000, Neal “the bundler” of the Donalds checks would not allow you to attend unless you were a local politician, who received a Neal “freebie” to attend.

Scott/Neal/DeSantis
Neal is called “the bundler” due to Neal’s M.O of bundling checks together for politicians to stuff in their pockets and then becoming like he was with Governor Ron DeSantis and was with former Governor Rick Scott and now with Donald’s -- their “main guy” in the area.
Neal does not usually make the calls to fill the venues like the Grove to raise the money for politicians stuffed in his and his cronies’ pockets. In the past he has used Maryanne Girgic Brody and other political operatives to make the calls.
Grigis is married to former Democrat Sarasota City Commissioner Hagen Brody and runs a consultant company called Keypoint Communication LLC.
Neal has stated in a recent Forbes Magazine article that he sees himself as a "seagull with "the right to swoop down on any chicken bone.” It appears that “Neal the seagull” sees himself as having the right of a seagull to swoop down on a chicken bone like Donalds.

Maley
As for Neal referring himself as a “seagull”, Mitch Maley of the Bradenton Times believes, "most folks around here would be more likely to see him at this stage of his career as a vulture, one who has scarfed down enough chicken bones to choke a whale.”
Maley was addressing Donald’s patron Neal’s unchecked development, providing insufficient infrastructure and vital environmental resources. TAKE A LOOK Poor, Poor Pat Neal - The Bradenton Times.

Neal recently bunded checks together for Governor Ron DeSantis last July in an event in Manatee County. Checks which came from Neal, Carlos Beruff, Bill Galvano, and other unnamed developers. Neal stated that he personally handed the bundled checks together to Governor DeSantis after a event at the Bradenton Civic Center. NEAL BUNDLES CHECKS TO DeSANTIS AT MANATEE PRESS CONFE...
Neal and his Gang of “Pay to Play” developers have been riding present Governor Ron DeSantis horse, as they did for eight years with then Governor Rick Scott turning Florida into Paradise Lost.
Donalds can expect more $millions from the Neal Gang once he has stepped in the Governor’s office just as Scott and DeSantis have while they carried the Neal’s Gang water out the Governor’s office in Tallahassee.
Sharing the stage with Neal and Donalds at the Lakewood Ranch event, Sydney Gruters, who is a announced candidate to replace the retiring U.S Congressman Vern Buchanan and the wife of Florid State Senator Joe Gruters.

Spier and Gruters
Gruters will oppose Eddie Spiers in the U.S 16th Congressional District in the upcoming Republican Party Primary. Spier is the Republica America First activists candidate, who was part of the Manatee County Coalition that deposed the Anthony Pedicini/Carlos Beruff Gang handpicked Mantee County Commissioners.
Both Donalds and Gruters have received the endorsement of President Donald Trump, who is no fan of the former Florida Democrat State Senator Neal.
Neal, who is a legitmate anti Trumpster has called Trump. "an incredibly vulgar candidate leading our party off a cliff." Evidently it makes no difference to Trump or Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles of Neal's opinion of President Trump. Both are supporters of Donalds.

Donalds with former Tallahasse lobbyist Wiles and David Ramba lobbyist Evan Power at a recent RPOF event
Donalds has also received the endorsemtmen of RPOF Chairman Evan Power. Over a 150 Republucan America First activists were purged from the MREC by Power's RPOF in Tallahassee. Power is the Chairman of the RPOF and who works for a major Tallahassee lobbyist David Ramba..
Neal, who is a legitimate anti Trumpster has called Trump, "an incredibly vulgar candidate leading our party off a cliff," and said he's concerned the GOP base supports Trump. Evidently it makes no difference to Trump or Trump’ Chief of Staff Susie Wills of Neal’s opinion of Trump. Both are major supporters of Donalds.

Rahn
Local politicians like Manatee County Commissioner Mike Rahn were among the local politicians that received “freebies’ to attend the Donalds event on behalf of Neal and another Donalds major financial supporter Carlos Beruff, who was also in attendance.

The Pedicini seven who turned the Manatee County Commission into a Shit Show
Rahn, who is running for re-election to the Manatee County Commission, is one of seven candidates handpicked by Tampa-based political operative Anthony Pedicini, who turned the Manatee County commission into a “shit show.”

Rahn and the other six county commissioners were, like Donalds, so deep in the pockets of Neal, Beruff, Randy Benderson, Gary Kompothecras and Rex Jensen that they needed a flashlight to find their way out.

Kruse
One of Pedicini/Beruff/Neal Seven, Commissioner George Kruse has come to Jesus like St Paul did on the road to Dasacaus and used that flashlight to get out the Neal/Beruff Gang’s pockets.

Pittman
Donalds’s benefactor Neal is the same individual who was the driving force behind an amendment to the controversial Florida SB 180, as Craig Pittman of the Florida Phoenix has written.
Pittman wrote, “The word in Tallahassee is that its major proponent is a big-time developer in Manatee County named Pat Neal.". TAKE A LOOK Legislature wants to make it impossible for local governments to build back better after hurricanes • Florida Phoenix
Neal wanted 2025 Legislature to block local governments from making any changes in their development codes that would better protect people from hurricane damage. With the Senat Bill 180, Neal got what he wanted, as DeSantis signed it into law.
Pittman stated that under this legislation, ” buyers of Neal-built homes will continue to face the same flooding risks as before.”
With the $3.1 million Neal put into Donalds’ campaign, Neal will maintain the same influence he had under DeSantis and Scott making $millions turning Manatee and Sarasota Counties unto Paradise Lost, as massive urban sprawl continues.
After Neal contributed $3.1 million, Donalds would no doubt allow Neal to retain control of the 12TH Judicial District Nominating Committee, as Neal did under Scott and DeSantis.
Under Neal’s 12th Judicial District system, judges retire shortly before their terms end. Neal then convenes the 12th Judicial Nominating Committee, which meets to interview applicants and submit Neal’s preferred candidates to the governor for approval—approval the governor routinely rubber-stamps.
Neal’s selected judges complete the unexpired term and then run unopposed for years to come. JUDGE BREWER CONTINUES THE NEAL CORRUPT LOCAL JUDICIAL ...
DONALDS FROM BROKLYN TO TALLAHASSE TO NAPLES AND NOW BACK TO TALLAHASSE FOR DONALDS
According to the the Florida Trident, Donalds has come a long way to break bread with the billionaire Neal and his multimillion developer cronies from his upbringing in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn via Florida A & M and FSU and Naples. Trident Exclusive: Trump VP hopeful Byron Donalds’ ex-wife shares her story, says what he’s doing is “super-dangerous” - WMNF 88.5 FM
According to the Trident article, Donalds, who used to woe the coeds at FSU after transferring from Florida A & M with his make-believe Jamaica accent has “married up” hooking up with a FSU coed Erica Lees from Naples before divorcing his first wife, Bisa Hall.

Erica Lees Donalds
Donalds present wife is the former Erica Lees, who is a former Collier County School Board Member. Erica Lees Donalds also worked for a New York investment management firm Dalton, Greiner, Hartman, Maher & Co., LLC (DGHM) from 2002 until 2018.
According to FloridaBulldog.org:
For years, Erika Donalds has used her perch atop the nonprofit Optima Foundation—not to mention her marriage to U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Naples), now a top contender for governor—to make herself a force in Florida’s charter school movement. But materials filed with Florida’s Auditor General show how in recent years the foundation lost multiple contracts with its signature “classical academies” over what the schools allege were faulty accounting practices, and still more contracts that switched over to for-profit companies Donalds owns herself.

Bridget Ziegler with her daughter at a recent Donalds event
Erica Donalds is the also the co-founder of Moms for Liberty with Sarasota County School Board member Bridget Ziegler, who along with her husband Christian Ziegler are major supporters of Byron Donalds for Governor.
Byron Donalds former wife, Hall in a recent interview in the Florida Trident explained that Donalds lied about his Jamaican accent to “make him stand out” because there were “a ton of guys from New York around,” but very few from Jamaica.
In the Trident interview Hall stated, “He was rough around the edges,” she said. “There is a polish there now that wasn’t there before. He would talk about how he grew up in a bad neighborhood and talk about how his family was poor. He had charm, but it was street charm.”
“The shininess of your relationship kind of falls off after a while,” said Hall. “You realize that person stinks sometimes and isn’t always awesome. You don’t like to pay all the bills. He was always complaining about how he did not have any money.”
The cash shortfall led to a serious problem – Donalds started selling weed, said Hall.
We had this neighbor who sold drugs and they got close,” she said. “Byron thought that was his path to fix his money situation. He was making bad choices. It never made sense to me why he did it. I had a level of concern. I had to worry, ‘What if he got arrested?’”
In late 1998 it happened – Donalds was arrested for marijuana possession with intent to distribute.
A pretrial diversion program kept Donalds from serving any jail time in the case. Donalds has claimed on multiple occasions that the arrest involved only possession, contradicting both the listed charge and Hall’s remembrance.
Donald’s life moved in a different direction after divorcing Hall and marrying the now Erica Donalds and moving to Naples.
DONALDS COMES TO JESUS IN A CRACKER BARREL PARKING LOT
Before moving onto to Naples after divorcing Hall, marrying Erica Lees, and getting arrested again on a felony bribery charge, Donalds state he came to Jesus in a Cracker Barrel parking lot.
Donalds said the life-changing event happened in the summer of 2001, a year and a half before he and Hall divorced. Hall said they were still in each other’s lives, but he never mentioned to her anything about joining the church.
“He wasn’t religious at all,” she said. “He was not a church person. It was not important to him. It didn’t exist.”
If it was not important or it did not exit until he moved to Naples, The Broklyn native Donalds is now promoting his Cracker Barrel Jesus conversation and now with a $3.1 million from Neal and his “Pay to Play” cronies to add to the $67 million Donalds campaign, Donald is on his way to the Governor's mansion in Tallahassee by way of a change over in Naples.

Pedicini
No more need of Donalds Jamaican accent to woe the Florida voters like he did to woe the FSU coeds, as long as he has the $millions from contributors like Neal and his Gang, who have turned Florida into Paradise Lost and Manatee County into a Anthony Pedicini Shit Show production.

Jon Susce
The Sarasota Phoenix team is the last media guardian in the Sarasota/ Manatee area and beyond laying bare for all to see how the Sarasota/ Manatee area and beyond is controlled by a UNI Party financed by millionaires and billionaires turning Florida into Paradise Lost...
"As usual, Jon Susce offers great insight found nowhere else in Sarasota and State of Florida Republican politics." Kevin Wright of the Manatee Republican Liberty Caucus.
Jon uncovers local corruption you will read about nowhere else. Vital and important information." Dan Lobeck President of Control Growth Now.
"Jon is easily the very best investigative reporter to ever work this market." Don Schilke a Director for Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections.
"Jon searches for the truth of the mater. He holds everyone accountable for their misleading actions or not. To God be the glory for what he is doing ." Valeria Buchand President of Newtown Nation.
