Herald Tribune Notes Jono Miller has Raised More Than One Hundred Thousand Dollars

October 22 • A front page story in the Sarasota Herald Tribune's local section covers the fact that I've raised the most money in county history for a county commission race. That should help sell papers. Of course, curious citizens could have read my blog entry from October 7th for free to learn more about this phenomenon. What I failed to mention, and is absent from the Tribune story, is the fact that, because this is a race that will be decided in the general election, 222,000 are expected to vote, not a lower turnout primary (Staub - who won with a total 48,000 voting) or uncontested race (Thaxton). Reaching and persuading the majority of 222,000 costs a lot more than reaching half of 48,000 [Although to be fair, Shannon Staub did not know in advance precisely which 48,000 would be voting.]

Read the Tribune Story here.

An excerpt from the article:

He is unapologetic about his support from the county to the north.

"I don't know why it's more ominous to have money from an out-of-county developer than in an in-county developer," Miller said.

Developers have always contributed to County Commission candidates, and Miller says it reflects well on him that he has been able to court their contributions.

"It's a lot of money," he said. "I wish we could do it some other way, but there's no point in showing up at a gunfight with a knife."

An excerpt from my earlier blog:

Here's what voters need to ask themselves: Would we rather have:

1) a leading environmentalist with the endorsement of the Sierra Club, a reputation for being "a voice of reason", and a three decade track record of consistent defense of the environment supported by some developers and hundreds of citizens,

or

2) candidates with no stated environmental credentials being supported by some other developers or having no significant grassroots support?