Jim DeNiro spent 30 years with the Sarasota Police Department, retiring in 2015 after running the traffic, marine, and narcotics units, before turning to real estate and mortgage licensing and, now, his first run for elected office as the Republican candidate for Sarasota County Commission District 4. He tells the hosts, joined by guest co-host Rachel Borack, that his decision to run followed a stint on the county's environmentally sensitive land oversight committee and traffic advisory board, where he says he saw firsthand how differently the county operates compared to the city government he knew from his police career.
Infrastructure anchors his campaign. DeNiro points to Sarasota County's population climbing from roughly 240,000 to 250,000 four decades ago toward a projected 500,000 within the next year, arguing the road network has not kept pace, and he cites Honore Avenue south of Palmer Ranch and Central Sarasota Parkway as projects where the drainage work is already in place but the second lane has sat unbuilt for decades. He also floats using AI to better synchronize traffic signals countywide, and he needles the hosts, only half joking, about their running on-air campaign for a roundabout at Ringling and Tuttle, a proposal he happened to sit through traffic at on his way to the taping.
On the county's finances, DeNiro criticizes the recently approved 2.5 billion dollar budget, which pulled roughly 23 to 25 million dollars from reserves despite a unanimous commission vote, and he argues that clawing back 5 million of that afterward does not erase a 20 million dollar overage. He also raises the county's aging jail, built in 1985 and now housing three inmates to a cell, as a facility decision the county can no longer defer, with cost estimates ranging from 400 to 700 million dollars. Asked about a family member's 8,000 dollar political action committee donation to his campaign, DeNiro says Florida Statute 112 would require him to recuse from votes involving that relative's commercial contracting business regardless, and he contrasts it with a 2016 maximum donation his primary opponent made to Hillary Clinton's campaign.
DeNiro says he outraised his opponent roughly two to one in the first quarter of this year, 79,000 dollars to 34,000, funding a modest run of campaign mailers against his opponent's far larger volume. On the roundabout question, he calls himself a fan overall but singles out the Jacaranda and Venice Avenue roundabout in Venice as the county's worst, citing its frequent accidents and an older nearby population, while crediting former police chief comments for the idea that a power-outage roundabout still moves traffic more safely than a dead stoplight ever could.
What you'll take away
- Jim DeNiro, a retired 30-year Sarasota police sergeant, is running as the Republican candidate for Sarasota County Commission District 4.
- His campaign centers on infrastructure, citing Honore Avenue and Central Sarasota Parkway as projects with completed drainage but no second lane after decades.
- DeNiro criticizes the county's 2.5 billion dollar budget for pulling 23 to 25 million dollars from reserves despite a unanimous approval vote.
- He says Florida Statute 112 would require him to recuse from any vote involving a family member's commercial contracting business that donated to his campaign.
- DeNiro outraised his primary opponent roughly two to one in the first quarter, 79,000 dollars to 34,000.
“If you're not advocating, if you're not lobbying on behalf of your constituency, then you're just an empty suit.”
“That's not a win. That's still a loss.”
Places mentioned: Palmer Ranch, Honore Avenue, Central Sarasota Parkway, Venice