The incumbent says a second term will be his last in public office.
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: June 10, 2026
Host: Joe Neunder is the incumbent on the District 4 seat of the Sarasota County Commission. But he is positioning himself differently from the first time around. Ramon Lopez sat down with Neunder and has this report.
Ramon Lopez: Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Neunder of Venice faces two competitors in his re-election bid. He will spar with Jim DeNiro, a retired Sarasota Police Department sergeant who has never held political office, in the August 18 Republican primary. The winner then faces Julie London, a dark horse Democrat, in the November 3 general election.
The first-term county commissioner hails from Buffalo, New York, which explains why he’s a big fan of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team. The Neunder family moved to Sarasota when Joe was a teen. He attended Pine View School in Osprey and swam competitively. A chiropractor, Neunder runs his own business in Venice where he resides with his three sons and wife Cindy.
Joe Neunder|Photo courtesy of Sarasota County
No stranger to government service, he served on the Sarasota County Planning Commission, was elected to the Venice City Council before easily beating Democrat Daniel Kuether in 2022 for his District 4 county commission seat. District 4 covers the length of Laurel Road to Clark Road east to west and north to Bee Ridge Road along US-41. It is geographically the largest of the five districts in Sarasota County.
Neunder, whose mother is from Puerto Rico and taught him to speak Spanish fluently, describes himself as a conservative Republican, as does his Republican rival in the primary race.
Neunder believes in efficient government, low taxes, balanced budgets and reduced traffic congestion, as does his opponent.
Neunder also backs controlled growth and deciding what real estate developments get the green light. The stated purpose of Florida’s Live Local Act is to increase the inventory of affordable housing by streamlining the approval process for zoning. But Neunder says it actually strips local government bodies of any role in reviewing projects pushed by real estate developers—in other words, pre-emption of local authority.
Joe Neunder: I absolutely think it’s a hindrance for me doing my job. County boards, city boards—we do a lot of land use, and we have the ability to say, on projects, “We think this is a good project.” We look at it aesthetically. We have to look at things and make sure—and we’re charged to do that by the people that put us in office. We represent the people. So Live Local really erodes home rule whether you’re on a county board, a city board, a town. That comes from Tallahassee, and, as you know, we have to adhere to all of the statutes and laws that Tallahassee puts into effect. I also think that, as we move forward—and there is some legislation that could potentially be signed, I believe, in July from the governor—we’re kind-of in a holding pattern.
RL: So what does local government do about the Live Local Act? A lawsuit is one option, says the county commissioner.
JN: Our board—we have five, so you’d have to have three people to push that. I think where we are in the process now because of the legislation that will be coming, I believe, in July, I don’t know that there’s any advantages to doing that—spending more taxpayer money on a lawsuit in that realm—but what will be interesting is to see what the outcome of those lawsuits are because I’m not an attorney, but we have resources that will be able to educate us and interpret it for us to know exactly where we stand.
RL: So it’s interesting to see Neunder recently the subject of Florida Politics posts over who is potentially padding his war chest. One entry questioned Neunder’s vote to pay $18.1 million for waterfront property in District 4, which is owned by a cash contributor to his county commission campaign. He admits it’s a very high price but fair since real estate in that area is expensive. But he said if you look long term at the public benefit, it’s a win.
Meanwhile, a Florida Politics column penned by Peter Schorsch alleged that Neunder is getting funded by some of the biggest names in Southwest Florida development. This, via a pro-Neunder political committee called Conservatives for a Brighter Future, which backs his re-election campaign. And reports to the Supervisor of Election Office show thousands of dollars of campaign contributions from a number of Siesta Key hotel and restaurant operators.
Neunder denies any campaign funding irregularities.
Neunder (right) and a representative from Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota. As chair of the county commission, he tried to mend the commission’s fraught relationship with non-profits.
RL: Did you see any of this money?
JN: I haven’t seen any of the money. It’s not my PAC. It’s that easy to understand.
RL: You’re saying, basically, that Conservatives for a Brighter Future is not a Neunder organization?
JN: It’s not a Joe Neunder organization.
RL: And you’re not getting funding from them?
JN: I am not getting any funding from them.
I would say that’s a little disingenuous because, if you think of a developer, you’re thinking about large organizations that build rooftops. You’re not thinking about small business owners that are restaurateurs or something along those lines. I am very proud of the support, holistically, that I’ve had for my campaign. There are a lot of people throughout Siesta Key—really, from North Port to the airport. You’ll see teachers and attorneys and doctors, and that’s meaningful. These are residents that are not developers, per se, and they are gracious enough to support my campaign that is going to cost significant amounts of money.
RL: The county commission is devising plans to keep Midnight Pass open in the short term and for the future, a pet project of Neunder.
Midnight Pass
JN: I am your Midnight Pass commissioner. I can’t speak for the other four, but I would absolutely, adamantly do whatever I could to both advocate and find funding. Make no mistake: This board and Sarasota County Government intends to always keep that. It is a navigable inlet right now. Mother Nature has opened it. It is designated as such. Should it close again, we should be able to—with a couple of emergency permits—be able to do whatever is required to make sure that water is flowing.
RL: Sarasota County is attempting to purchase the former Gulf Gate Golf Course and convert it into greenspace. But a developer wants a new housing development there. At issue is the final purchase price and the cost of removing arsenic in the soil. Neunder believes a compromise—a happy middle ground—can be found.
The Sarasota County Jail is overcrowded, prompting county commissioners to consider a costly addition. Photo by Michael Barfield of The Florida Trident via Suncoast Searchlight
Sarasota County’s jail is way overcrowded, but building a new criminal justice complex would cost $700 million. A planned ballot referendum on the issue was scrapped, said Neunder, because it was too much for taxpayers to handle at the moment. Instead, the county came up with a quick fix: Spend $400 million to add 725 beds. He said a referendum will still be required and it’s going to have to happen sooner than later.
Neunder says he’s happy with the progress being made to fix the county’s stormwater problem, now being engineered by Stormwater Czar Ben Quartermaine.
JN: We have been diligently attacking anything and everything, whether they were backlogged mediation efforts or perhaps hardening some dikes and structures in areas that may have been missed, and up until this point, I believe Ben and his team have been working almost literally around the clock to correct insufficiencies that obviously existed in Sarasota County. There are residents that feel like we need to do more, and yes, perhaps we do need to do more. These people went through a significant catastrophe. Some of these people lost everything. Some of these people haven’t even started rebuilding and reconstructing their homes because they fear that, if we do have another significant rain event, all the work that they’ll do to repair could just be wiped out again. And I understand that. So you have to understand and be empathetic to the people that need more and more. And I’m receptive to that. And, of course, I use my ears and mouth in proportion, listen, and then bounce that back through Ben Quartermaine. Always having open transparency in communication—that’s key in this case, especially for stormwater. We need to be prepared and we need to be proactive. I’ve always been of the position that I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it because water is damaging, and what we saw was heartbreaking.
Joe Neunder swearing in while parents Bill Neunder (gray suit) and Elizabeth Cuevas Neunder (white dress) watch. | Courtesy Sarasota County
RL: Neunder says he enjoys being a county commissioner and finds the work fulfilling.
JN: It’s a huge honor to represent Sarasota County residents. I love our home. This is a great place to live, work and play. I feel very blessed that the voters have selected me to be their District 4 commissioner. It’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of reading. You deal with the public often. But at my day job, that’s kind-of what I do, too, so that’s not a huge leap for me. We have our ups and downs, but overwhelmingly, a very positive experience.
RL: But Neunder says all good things must come to an end. And he told WSLR News that a hoped-for second term as a county commissioner will be his last.
JN: I still maintain my practice. I still see patients. I’m more of a concierge chiropractor at the moment. But I think, at the end of this campaign, this will probably be my last stint in public service. My wife and my family need me—my boys are getting older—so this election cycle will more than likely be my last.
RL: On the campaign trail, this is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
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