THE SARASOTA PHOENIX IS THE MEDIA OUTLET FOR 15 YEARS INFORMING THE PUBLIC WHAT REALLY IS GOING ON IN THE AREA AS THE MULLET WRAPPERS SHT AND OBSERVER BELLY UP TO NEAL AND HIS CRONIES
The local political fossil-Neal
THE LOCAL SREC IS SPLIT BETWEEN NEAL ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICANS AND CONSERVATIVE TRUMP REPUBLICANS
Brill
EQUALITY FLORIDA LGBTQ DEMOCRAT OPERATIVES TAKE OUT SREC CHAIR BRILL
There is a major split within the local Sarasota Republican Party between developer Pat Neal establishment Republicans and former President Donlad Trump’s conservative Republicans.
Neal, who is the establishment Republican Governor Ron DeSantis go-to-guy in the local area is a former Jimmy Carter Florida Democrat State Senator for 12 years before being defeated by a Regan Republican in 1986.
Neal is a documented anti Trumpster having called Trump among other damning statements, "Trump is an incredibly vulgar candidate who is leading our party off a cliff and I am dispirited with what I see every morning having to do with the Trump campaign.”
The split between developer Pat Neal’s Establishment Republicans and Trump conservative Republicans has become bitter, as exemplified in the August 20th Primary.
Starting when early voting began up until election day a bitter anger by Neal’s establishment Republicans against Trump conservative Republicans led by County Commission candidates Terese Mast an Neil Rainford was clearly witnessed at the Fruitville Library, Gulfgate, Venice and North Port voting sites.
Rival red tents were set up at the sites with Neal establishment Republican supporters of Mast and Rainford for Sarasota County Commissioners in their Republican red tents, while Trump conservatives supporting Alexandra Coe and Tom Knight were manning other Republican red tents.
Mast/Pedicini/Rainford
NEAL’S MAST/RAINFORD/PEDICINI FALSE VOTER GUIDES
The Neal Establishment Republicans were handing out voter guides financed by $465,000 from Mast, Rainford and their political operative Anthony Pedicini. These guides falsely stated that Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis endorsed Mast, Rainford and other Neal Republican establishment candidates.
The Neal establishment Republican candidates Mast and Rainford were managed by the Lavender Republican political operative Pedicini, who turned the Manatee County Commission into a Carlos Beruff Shit Show and desired to continue a Sarasota County Commission Neal Shit Show.
Castor and Pedicini
PEDICINI OUT OF CLOSET IN SUPPORT OF LIBERAL DEMOCRAT CASTOR
Pedicini is the same Pedicini, who is out of the closet in the Ybor City neighborhood of Tampa in support of Tampa Democrat liberal Mayor Jane Castor and her LGBTQ coalition and taking out critics of Castor. In Tampa, Pedicini is the promoter of the Democrat liberal UNI Party Tampa Mayor Castor and her LGBTQ coalition.
Jensen/Benderson/Beruff/Neal
The Pedicini led Neal Republican Mast and Rainford campaign was financed by over a million dollars from the Neal, Randy Benderson, Carlos Beruff and Rex Jensen Gang, as were Pedicini's defeated candidates in Manatee County.
As establishment Neal Republicans were handing out fake endorsement put together by Pedicini, as the Trump conservative Republicans were handing out voter guides put out by the America First SWF Caucus and Sarasota County Republican Assembly.
The Trump conservative guides endorsed Alexandra Coe, Tom Knight and those opposed to the Neal Republican establishment candidates.
Brill
BRILL'S INEPT LEADERSHIP LED TO EQUALITY FOLORIDA LGBTQ CANDIDATES VICTORIES
EQUALITY FLORIDA LGBTQ DEMOCRAT OPERATIVES TAKE OUT REPUBLICAN REC CHAIR BRILL
The split between the local Neal Establishment Republican and former President Donald Trump conservative Republican has seen two EQUALITY FLORIDA LGBTQ Democrat candidate’s gaining election to the Sarasota County School Board.
It is impossible to deny the major reasons that the Democrat EQUALITY FLORIDA LGBTQ endorsed candidate’s Tom Edwards and Liz Barker were elected is that Neal’s handpicked Chairman of the SREC Jack Brill’s inept political abilities.
Brill failed to bring the two groups together and put into operation a near nonexistent SREC Get Out The Vote (GOTV) operation to defeat the two EQUALITY FLORIDA LGBTQ Democrat endorsed candidates.
This is not the first time the inept Brill was taken out by Democrats. This recent Brill debacle followed a stunning loss in the last February Venice City elections when two Democrats defeated two Republicans in the bastion of Republican conservatism in Southwest Florida.
Brill's being a totally incompetent political operative was exemplified once again when Brill's attempt to take out the anti-Neal developers Single Member District referendum failed miserably when Brill had the SREC pay a Las Vegas “door knocking” company over $40,000 in a losing campaign to take out SMD.
EQUALITY FLORIDA LGBTQ Democrat candidates Edwards and Harper
There was absolutely no effective Get Out the Vote (GOTV) campaign initiated by Brill to elect Republican candidates to take out the two EQUALITY FLORIDA LGBTQ candidates, Tom Edwards and Liz Barker.
No organized effort coming out SREC headquarters or elsewhere to identify Republican voters, no organized effort to get Republican voters to vote early and most importantly on election day. All the precincts in the City of Sarasota were near abandoned to Democrats on election day.
The overall turnout in August 20 primary was 30% with a 6% turn out on election day when trationally Republicans vote. Democratic Party turnout was 42%, with no state or national offices on the ballot. Republican turnout was just 35%.
Had the two sides turned out in equal numbers as registered and voted as expected, that would have cost Barker about 7,000 votes-- and a LAND SIDE ELECTION VICTORY FOR KAREN ROSE.
A similar outcome in the Edwards race for School Board. 7,000 votes split between Republicans Thomas Babciz and Greg Wood would have keep Edwards under 50% and a possible clear victory for Babciz or Wood.
NEAL NO PROBLEM WITH BRILL INEPT LEADERSHIP
There is little doubt that Brill sat on his hands as the former Democrat Florid State Senator, Bush and Adam Putnam Republican, Neal did not want a Trump conservative sitting on the School Board.
That was quite apparent when Neal and the other members of the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange (GCBX) endorsed Edwards over the Trump conservative candidate Thomas Babicz. No way could Babicz sell out Trump to become a Neal establishment Republican.
The same is obvious with Neal and his establishment Republicans desiring to keep control of the Sarasota County Commission. With the election of Mast and Rainford replacing the Neal term limited Neal Republican Mike Moran they could join other Neal establishment Republican conservatives Ron Cutsinger and Joe Neunder on the Commission.
Knight
WILL KNIGHT STAY CLEAR OF NEAL AND HIS CRONIES?
An interesting question has now risen with the election of Republican moderate Tom Knight joining Republican moderate Mark Smith showing independence from Neal. Will the duo take on Neal and his cronies turning Sarasota into another Ft. Lauderdale? How will they interact with Neal establishment Commission members?
Smith
Keep in mind, Knight is a former Neal Republican endorsed and financed Sarasota County Sheriff and was to be appointed by DeSantis after the death of Commissioner Nancy Detert.
That became mute after Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd put a call into DeSantis. Judd had a problem with Knight when Knight was a captain of Florida Highway patrol over incident on I-4.
Culverhouse
Knight was able to win despite $millions put into a Pedicini led Rainford campaign by Neal and his gang due to being financed by Hugh Culverhouse Jr., who is neither a Neal Republican or a Trump conservative. Culverhouse has also contributed heavily to the 2022 successful County Commissioner Smith campaign in 2022.
Culverhouse in the past has taken on the Neal establishment Republicans like Randy Benderson. Culverhouse sued Benderson for working with a corrupt County Administrator Jim Ley to criminally defraud him. Culverhouse was awarded a $20 million settlement by 6-member jury, with the decision overturned by a Neal Gang Judge Peter Dubensky.
Among other examples of Culverhouse taking on the Neal Gang are expanding over a million dollars financing a lawsuit against Neal led racist re-districting of over 15,000 Black voters and supporting the Celery Fields activists.
Culverhouse contributing heavily to the 2022 Smith campaign and Knight 2024 campaigns it is now apparent that both Knight and Smith can now take on the Neal establishment Republicans on the Commission. The duo now know they can vote with those for those opposing Sarasota turning into Paradise Lost with Culverhouse’s support for re-election.
The Neal establishment Republican Brill led SREC breaking bread with Casey DeSantis while Ron DeSantis was taking on Trump in Iowa Presidential primary.
WHO ARE THE NEAL ESTABLISHMENT REPUBLICANS
The present Neal Sarasota County establishment Republican Commission Shit Show Neunder/Smith/Cutzinger/Moran/Rainford
That list would include Brill and his leadership team, which be made up of Neunder, Rachel Frank, Atticus Frank, Alice Rothbauer and the Executive Director of the SREC Kelly Irwin. Not only should Irwin be identified as a Neal establishment Republican, Irwin should be removed from the SREC.
Irwin
The SREC E.D Irwin disgracefully was seen paying young James Buchanan supporters in cash for getting out the vote for the opponent of a Trump conservative Republican Michelle Pozzi running to replace Buchanan, as a Florida State Representative.
The Robinson's
The list would also include long time Republican establishment Charlie Crist and Adam Putnam supporters, Christine and Eric Robinson along with Brill's SREC media shrill spokesman Rod Thomson among others. The Robinson's involvement with Crist and Putnam is just the tip of the iceberg in identifying this duo with the establishment Neal Republicans.
Thomson
The Neal/Brill SREC establishment Republican mouthpiece-Thomson
Thomson has been paid thousands of dollars with SREC funds not authorized by the membership of the SREC to push the Neal establishment Republican agenda at the SREC.
The paid Neal/Brill flunky Thomson once called Trump conservative supporters in this fashion, "There is a small number of carpers and whiners in our local party who seem intent on doing everything they can to undermine and sabotage the local GOP leadership."
Vern Buchanan's political operative Max Goodman jumped on board the Neal establishment Republicans in leading the establishment Sarasota Memorial Hospital Board members campaign against the Trump conservative Medical Freedom candidates. The past "turf battle" between Vern Buchanan and Neal evidently was put aside for the SMH Board election.
Gruters
Florida State Senator Joe "No Profile in Courage" Gruters jumped in bed with Neal establishment Republicans in this 2024 Republican primary. Gruters jumped on board with the Neal establishment Republicans, as the campaign manager for a Neal establishment Republican for the SMH hospital Board candidate Sarah Lodge against Trump conservative Republican Tanya Parus.
On and on it goes at the SREC, as the rank and file decide at the next SREC meeting on 9/12/24 if the Brill led Neal establishment Republicans team can deliver in large numbers for Trump in November, despite the Brill led team was taken out by EQUALITY FLORIDA LGBTQ operatives in two Sarasota County School Board races.
The Sarasota Phoenix team is the last guardian in Sarasota of the vital fourth estate. While the rest of local, mainstream media outlets have been overtaken by profit driven directives, the Sarasota Phoenix is the only local media outlet laying bare for all to see how Sarasota local government is operating like a Latin American Junta.
"As usual, Jon Susce offers great insight found nowhere else in Suncoast and State 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.