At issue: Being portrayed as bankrolled by developers.
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: August 14, 2026
Host: Republican primaries in this area feature the most heated battles this electoral cycle. Case in point: The two Republican candidates in the Sarasota County Commission District 4 race are whacking each other with PACs. The latest: A cease and desist order. WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez follows the Joe Neunder vs. Jim DeNiro race.
Ramon Lopez: The war of words between District 4 Sarasota County Commission election contenders Joe Neunder—the incumbent—and retired cop Jim DeNiro continues. This, as early voting is underway in the Republican primary and wraps up this coming Tuesday, August 18.
Jim DeNiro
The latest salvo came from the DeNiro campaign. It revealed that Commissioner Neunder hired a high-power law firm in Boca Raton to send DeNiro a cease and desist letter demanding that he stop distributing advertisements identifying Neunder as being bankrolled by developers. The letter threatened litigation against DeNiro for alleged libel.
DeNiro’s people consider the letter part of a “campaign of intimidation.” “This is what abuse of power and political desperation looks like,” said DeNiro campaign spokesman Max Goodman. “Whether it is pressuring a constitutional officer to scrutinize his political opponent, or turning to lawfare to try to intimidate him, Neunder is weaponizing every advantage of incumbency against the retired police officer to threaten his political career.”
Goodman went on to say: “He cannot defend his voting record or explain the developer money behind him, so instead of answering for his record, he is trying to silence the challenger exposing it.”
The DeNiro campaign got hold of the threat letter and provided it to the public as part of its barrage of press releases. It said, “be advised that each claim concerning Neunder’s acceptance of contributions from the developers are unequivocally false.” And the letter said Neunder has not accepted any contributions from Pat Neal or any other developers.
It said failure to cease and desist will result in litigation for libel.
We caught up with Neunder, who was out seeking votes.
Joe Neunder (center), appearing with Mark Smith and Eddie Speir at a press conference at Gulf Gate Library. | Photo: Lopez
Joe Neunder: Hey, guys. Sarasota County Commissioner here with my beautiful and amazing family. We’re out sign-waving today in the Gulf Gate area. Please make sure to vote if you’re early voting, and August 18 is our primary. Thank you all, and God bless.
RL: The incumbent county commissioner told WSLR News DeNiro had not responded to the demand letter. And he hasn’t decided whether to actually sue his political rival.
JN: I don’t know yet. I think what I’m going to do is try to get through Tuesday, take a little deep breather and see where things—but the records have to be cleared. This type of disingenuous and dishonest behavior—voters deserve better.
Our campaign sent a little letter over to the DeNiro campaign for a cease and desist about disinformation. Yes. I think it’s very disingenuous, and it’s wrong. They’re muddying the waters, and they’re confusing voters. At the end of the day, we want to make sure that the voters have a clear understanding of who is behind the messaging. I believe we sent them a cease and desist. They did not respond.
RL: On the campaign trail, this is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
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