She is the sole Democrat in the race so far
On April 28, Sarasota resident Julie London became the third person to file for the District 4 Sarasota County Commission seat, The Sarasota News Leader has learned.
She is a registered Democrat, as shown on the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections website.
London also is known as Julie London Ferguson, she makes clear on her personal Facebook page.
In a May 5 post, she wrote of having made comments to the County Commission that morning as it met in Venice.
Further, London wrote, with emphasis, “SIGN THE PETITION NOW to get our name on the ballot. You must live South of Bee Ridge Road from [U.S.] 41 to Beneva [Road]. Once you cross over Clark Road — the whole area [of] Nokomis and Osprey are ours. … No time to procrastinate.”
If candidates gather a sufficient number of petitions from registered voters, they do not have to pay a filing fee during the qualifying period. That period will begin at noon on Monday, June 8, and conclude at noon on Friday, June 12, the Florida Division of Elections says. Any registered voter in District 4 can sign a petition, London also points out on Facebook. She needs 700 petitions, she added.
As the News Leader has reported, Commissioner Joe Neunder of Venice, the District 4 incumbent, is seeking re-election. He and his initial challenger, Jim DeNiro, a retired Sarasota Police Department are both registered Republicans.
Through the first quarter of this year, Neunder had raised $81,020 for his campaign, compared to DeNiro’s total of $52,505., the Supervisor of Elections Office website notes.
During the Open to the Public comment period of the County Commission’s regular meeting, London read from a prepared statement, telling the board members, “I’m a public school and elder advocate, but somehow, I became an elder myself.”
She then announced her filing for the District 4 seat.
“I’m here today to ask you to reverse what must have been a hasty decision to put tax referendum fees into Mike Moran’s Tax Collector coffers,” she continued.
Moran, a former two-term county commissioner, was elected the county’s tax collector during the November 2024 General Election.
London pointed out, “Eighty-four percent of citizens reading a referendum understood that this [revenue from a special 1-mill tax] would be going into the public schools. This is what the taxpayer voted on, not millions of dollars being turned over the next four years to an office whose budget has ballooned since [Moran] took over.”
She continued, “Yet, like the good little soldier, Moran threw the commissioners under the bus when it came to light, and the public schools were forced to fight back.
“Public education is a cornerstone of democracy,” London stressed. “And our A-rated School District brings in families and keeps our property values high. A decision like this that hurts our kids and our teachers appears to need more consideration,” she concluded her remarks.
As The Sarasota News Leader reported this week, the Sarasota County School Board has filed a complaint against Moran, in his official capacity, in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court. The goal is to recover the commissions that Moran has collected in the handling of the revenue derived from the voter-approved, special 1-mill tax that has been in effect since the first successful referendum conducted on it, in 2002.
The funds enable the School District to provide educational opportunities for its students that it otherwise could not afford, the Sarasota County School Board has pointed out.
Later on May 5, Commissioner Tom Knight, who was elected to the board in November 2024, won support for rescinding a board vote on Aug. 19, 2025, that called for the county to no longer to pay a portion of the commissions. As Commissioner Teresa Mast said that day, the School Board should cover the expense.
Both Commissioners Joe Neunder and Mark Smith supported Knight’s motion, while Chair Ron Cutsinger and Mast voted against it. (See the related articles in this issue.)