A 40-year incumbent faces a developer-funded crusader.
By Florence Fahringer
Original Air Date: June 21, 2024
Host: Sarasota County’s tax collector has been the incumbent since 1984, and she’s the only countywide-elected Democrat. In this year’s elections, term-limited County Commissioner Mike Moran is hoping to end her 40-year reign, and he comes with Republican culture warrior credentials and a lot of developer funding. But first, he has to overcome a Republican contender with more experience. Florence Fahringer has the details.
Florence Fahringer: County tax collectors are supposed to work efficiently and quietly behind the scenes. They are not setting any taxes; they’re simply an agent for local and state government institutions, collecting property taxes, drivers license fees, vehicle registration fees — so on, so forth. Their task is to keep government running smoothly, while treating taxpayers fairly and efficiently. So it’s not a surprise that the position of Sarasota County Tax Collector has never been a battleground during election season.
The incumbent tax collector, Barbara Ford-Coates, has run for election 10 times; of those 10 elections, she’s only ever had to face a challenger five times. She describes each of those five challenges as having been defined by “mutual respect and courtesy between candidates.” The most recent of these respectful and courteous challenges occurred in 2016, where she and her opponent raised a combined $26,000 between them.
But this time around, a battle is taking place, as respect and courtesy are taking a backseat to money — lots and lots of money. Mike Moran’s term on the Sarasota County Commission ends this year, and term limits bar him from seeking reelection. Instead, Moran announced his candidacy for tax collector early, raising $64,000 within a few months. As of this report, Moran has raised just over $100,000 in his bid for tax collector — that’s four times the total amount raised by both candidates back in 2016.
Mike Moran
Unlike Ford-Coates’ previous opponent, who paid for his campaign mostly out of his own pocket, Moran’s money fits a mold of certain Republican candidates across the county, with a large number of donations coming from developers. One such developer with a maxed-out $1,000 donation is Teresa Mast, the wife of the CEO of the Suncoast Builders Association, and candidate to succeed Moran on the county commission.
In an email responding to our questions, Moran said he is a pro-business candidate. But he added that he has also received “hundreds and hundreds of donations from nurses, firefighters, deputies, retired citizens, and yes real estate professionals.”
We checked the donation records Moran’s campaign gave the Supervisor of Elections and could not find evidence for these kinds of numbers. As of June 14, Moran has received one donation from an individual who works in law enforcement, one donation from a “Sarasota Manatee Defense Fund” PAC, which could plausibly be related to law enforcement, though it’s headquartered at the same address as the Moran campaign’s treasurer and chaired by a Sarasota area real estate executive; one donation from an individual firefighter, one donation from a Firefighter PAC; and one donation from an individual who works in healthcare. That’s a total of one possible nurse, one firefighter, one deputy, and one or two related PACs. As for retirees and real estate professionals, 18 retirees have donated just under $9,000; 22 real estate professionals and businesses have donated just over $20,000; and 31 development-related professionals and businesses have donated just over $25,000.
Charles Bear
In the same email, Moran points out that “my opponent’s biggest donor is one of the largest developers in Sarasota County.” He is referring to Hugh Culverhouse, who indeed is one of the largest developers in the county, and who has donated $10,000 to Ford-Coates’ campaign. Hugh Culverhouse and Moran seemed to clash earlier this year, when Culverhouse swooped in to save a non-profit from Moran’s budget cuts. This is perhaps why, after Culverhouse had already donated $7,000 to Moran’s campaign for Tax Collector, Culverhouse decided to throw $10,000 at Ford-Coates’ campaign.
Moran isn’t the only challenger this time around either. Charles Bear announced his candidacy a few months after Moran, and is running as a Republican. Bear’s campaign is reminiscent of prior challenges: He’s gone out of his way to clarify his respect for Ford-Coates, saying that “She will never be replaced. Her potential successor can only hope to carry on her tradition of excellent public service.” It’s also reminiscent of past campaign budgets: self-funded and below $20,000. Our news team reached out to Bear for further comment, but did not hear back before deadline.
Barbara Ford-Coates, the 40-year Democrat incumbent running for reelection, has kicked fundraising into high-gear. She launched her campaign later than her Republican opponents, but while Moran’s fundraising has slowed to a halt since January, only raking in $12,000, Ford-Coates’ campaign has raised $50,000 over the same period. Unlike her opponents, those $50,000 are almost entirely crowd funded, with over 200 individual donors making donations that generally max out at $100, rather than $1,000.
Barbara Ford-Coates
Ford-Coates, in an email responding to our questions, points to her tenure as tax collector as evidence of her abilities. She wrote, “We will continue our commitment to innovation as evidenced by the numerous pilot programs we have undertaken for the Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles including the vetting of state system upgrades and procedural changes, being the first Tax Collector in Florida to issue a driver’s license, and establishing a program to send tax bills via email which led to a rewrite of the law to provide electronic notification to taxpayers.” She’s got a certain emphasis in her message, never crediting herself alone for her achievements, always mentioning her team’s contributions, while adding “Our success is due to each staff member’s commitment to innovation and kindness.”
As for the “respect and courtesy” she experienced in past challenges, she seems disappointed by the performance of one specific opponent this time around.
“This cycle, one of my opponents has made claims against my office and Tax Collectors across the state for ‘going rogue’ by not following the laws of Florida … the same opponent has made bold accusations that my office is ‘not keeping up with advancements of technology’ solutions, which is untrue … When I asked my opponent about his statement, since any feedback is an opportunity to improve, the inquiry was met with no feedback. In my career as a public servant and experience as an elected official, this is not the way campaigns with integrity are conducted.”
Though she never specified which Republican opponent she was referring to, Moran has previously gone on the record attacking Ford-Coates’ office’s alleged sluggishness in adopting new technologies.
In August, Moran and Bear will square off in the Republican primary. The victor will face Ford-Coates in November.
This is Florence Fahringer, reporting for WSLR News.
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