The retired cop faces a residency challenge and Democrat Julie London.
By Ramon Lopez
Original Air Date: August 20, 2026
Host: On Tuesday, Jim DeNiro beat the incumbent for the Sarasota County Commission District 4 seat. WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez talked to the retired cop about a pending challenge about whether he is legally qualified to run, and about his Democratic opponent in the upcoming general elections.
Ramon Lopez: We’re going to have a conversation with a cop.
If you haven’t heard, retired Sarasota PD Sergeant Jim DeNiro overcame no-name recognition to defeat first-term incumbent District 4 Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Neunder. It was a bitter Republican primary. He now faces Democratic dark horse-candidate Julie London in the November general election.
Jim DeNiro | Photo: Lopez
DeNiro got 53% of the vote. He defeated Neunder with an 800-vote margin.
The primary race wasn’t pretty. DeNiro ended Neunder’s bid for a second term after a contentious, mudslinging GOP primary where both candidates accused the other of being backed by developers.
And DeNiro still faces an ongoing investigation by the Florida Election Commission. It’s alleged that he failed to meet a six-month District 4 residency requirement and did not qualify for a homestead preferential tax exemption. The former decorated lawman could face a stiff fine or a third-degree felony conviction.
In an exclusive telephone interview with WSLR News after he defeated his rival, DeNiro said he was worn out but elated by his win.
Jim DeNiro: I’m obviously extremely happy for a lot of people that were involved in this process with me—my family and my friends, who showed me so much support over this. That’s a hell of a load to carry when you’re going through this, especially for a first-time candidate, not really knowing what to expect or navigate this process of running for office is quite a challenge as it’s been over these last few months.
RL: He was dead tired when the polls closed.
Jim DeNiro (left), Julie London (center) and Joe Neunder (right) | Photo: Lopez
JD: When it was over last night at 7:00, it was one of these things where, “Alright, now what do I do? I’m in this sweaty T-shirt; I’ve been out here all day in the sun and the heat and everything else,” and it’s like, okay, what are you supposed to do? And then the results started coming in, and then the phone—the text messages start coming in. You’re just processing. It’s like, what do you do? As a first-time person, it’s a bit overwhelming. And then, at some point, we’re going to enjoy the day. At some point, we’re going to start to strategize moving forward with the general election. I feel really good. I feel great. I feel great for me; I feel great for everybody involved; I feel great for the vision and the future for Sarasota County with me stepping in, hopefully after the November election, as commissioner. I’m really looking forward to the last chapter of this to get to the next step.
RL: There’s no rest for the weary.
JD: We’re going to start right away. We’re gonna start putting things together and come up with our strategy.
RL: There was no watch party for the family man.
Jim DeNiro (right)
JD: I was with family and friends. Because—it was funny. Being a newcomer, not really knowing the process and not knowing if I needed to reserve a place or not reserve the place, it was kinda like, “Well, let’s save it until November. If we win, then we’ll save it until November.”
RL: As the results rolled in, DeNiro said it was touch and go for a while.
JD: You’re sitting there going, “This just might—” I was sitting there with my wife—“This just may happen.” And we saw the returns early for the vote-by-mails and the early voting, andI’ll be honest with you, I was quite surprised. It was just a question of holding on and seeing as the precincts were reporting to see where we’re at. Then, of course, at the end, I knew. So it was a great feeling.
RL: DeNiro said he has not heard from Dr. Neunder but wishes him well in defeat.
JD: I’ll say this: In all fairness, I would just want to thank him for his service to the county commission during his term and wish him the best in his afterlife in whatever he chooses to do.
RL: And what about Julie London?
Julie London and Joe Neunder
JD: I’ll be honest with you: Julie London is a very nice person. She has messaged me on some of the things that have happened during this campaign, and I find her to be a very caring person. From that perspective I hope that we can run a nice, clean campaign. We’re going to deal with issues that people are concerned about.
RL: Final question. What about the residency issue hanging over you?
JD: I am wholeheartedly convinced that, when this is all said and done, I am not worried one bit about my residency issue—about this whole ridiculous thing with Homestead that’s been brought up that’s completely unrelated to residency. The fact that I owned another house and then later sold it has nothing to do with the election. There was nothing done illegal by me or my wife. At the end of the day, this whole complaint that was generated will be found to be completely baseless, to be quite honest with you. We’re very confident in that going forward.
RL: That was retired Sarasota PD Sergeant DeNiro, who aims to go from cop to commissioner.
On the campaign trail, Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.
WSLR News aims to keep the local community informed with our 1/2 hour local news show, quarterly newspaper and social media feeds. The local news broadcast airs on Tuesdays and Thursday at 6pm.