Does Jim DeNiro live in the district he wants to represent?

A state elections panel finds a complaint against the Sarasota County Commission candidate ‘legally insufficient’.

By Ramon Lopez

Original Air Date: October 13, 2026

Host: Does Jim DeNiro actually live in the district he wants to represent? WSLR News reporter Ramon Lopez is following up on a complaint filed against the Sarasota County Commission candidate.

Ramon Lopez: Republican Jim DeNiro is running against Democrat Julie London to replace Joe Neunder as Sarasota’s District 4 county commissioner. The retired cop won the Republican primary race against Neunder despite a complaint filed with the Florida Elections Commission. The FEC is an organization set up in 1973 to enforce campaign finance laws in the Sunshine State.

Jim DeNiro (left), Julie London (center) and Joe Neunder (right) | Photo: Ramon Lopez

The complaint was lodged by Conni Brunni regarding his required District 4 residency. She is a local conservative political activist. Brunni founded the Sarasota County Republican Assembly chapter, which merged with Sarasota Patriots to form the Sarasota MAGA Patriots, which she currently heads. And Brunni backed Neunder’s failed effort to hold onto his commission seat.

Brunni addressed this issue on WSLR’s Talk of the Town.

Conni Brunni

Conni Brunni: I filed a residency complaint against Jim DeNiro. I had a serious concern—a legitimate concern—about his residency, which is required under our county’s charter—six months—and if you didn’t live there, then you may have been lying on your candidate oath, and lying on a candidate oath is a violation of state law. That’s why I filed with the elections commission. That has recently been found to be legally insufficient because, after the fact, Mr. DeNiro has now claimed he had a lease with his mother.

RL: While the Florida Elections Commissioners deemed her complaint legally insufficient, Brunni says the case—for now—remains open. This, because she has the right to present additional information to prove her accusations within two weeks. And she did just that late last week.

Jim DeNiro

DeNiro hired high-powered attorneys to present his defense to the elections commissioners. Brunni said they “basically took everything the attorneys said at face value, which was very disturbing.”

Brunni went on to say:

CB: Suddenly, out of nowhere, Mr. DeNiro has produced a quote-unquote “lease” with his mother for $500 a month that he says is dated November 1, 2025. If he was living there November 1 or even December 1, he certainly satisfies the six-month requirement; therefore, he wasn’t lying on his papers.

RL: But Brunni alleges her amateur detective work shows that DeNiro was never around his mother’s residence in November and December 2025, a house in District 4 he says he is leasing. She thinks the lease is bogus. Brunni says bank records would clearly prove that DeNiro has been paying his mother $500 a month since November. Brunni says she’s very disappointed with the elections commissioners.

Also at issue is whether DeNiro legally claimed a homestead tax break for a house he previously owned in District 3 through late last year. His lawyers said the Florida Supreme Court held a property owner may claim the homestead tax exemption based on a dependent’s permanent residence on the property without the owner personally residing there.

Brunni believes her complaint will ultimately be dismissed. But she stands by her accusations.

CB: This keeps it open. But I will tell you my expectation. I don’t want to be Pollyanna here. I expect that they will still not take my word for this—that, somehow, his word has more value than mine, which is really upsetting. But my guess is that they’re going to take his word for it and leave this as quote-unquote “legally insufficient.”

I had—and still have—a legitimate belief that this individual lied on his qualification papers, and lying on your qualification papers is a violation of the state’s law. It’s that simple. I still believe that. I do. It was never baseless. It was based on fact that was available to me through public record.

RL: Brunni says DeNiro should not say the FEC complaint has now been settled. But he thinks differently.

Jim DeNiro

Jim DeNiro: We’re waiting for a final disposition from the state. This is a fraudulent complaint. It was maliciously instigated by my former opponent Joe Neunder and his wife. He can deny it all day long. There is public record to prove that. The county appraiser himself had a phone conversation with Neunder. 30 minutes later, after his inquiry and his insistence on this, he was told there was no there there with regard to my wife or myself—with the homestead exemption or any of this. That being said, that very same report was turned over to the media to create a smear campaign against me, and my opponent denied all knowledge of it even though his fingerprints are all over this thing. As far as I’m concerned, it’s done; It’s always been done. It’s still there, yes.

RL: But, as far as you’re concerned, you’ve been vindicated.

JD: Absolutely. Absolutely.

RL: We’ll hear more from DeNiro on the final push of his campaign in a follow-up report next week. This is Ramon Lopez for WSLR News.

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