Moran wins primary for tax collector, will face Ford-Coates in the main election
The EcoRover wheelchair makes the trip to the beach easier
The EcoRover is an all-terrain electric wheelchair now available for disabled people at Lido Beach in Sarasota.
Mike Moran will be the Republican nominee to face incumbent Democrat Barbara Ford-Coates for the Sarasota County Tax Collector’s Office seat in the November general election.
Moran, who represented northeast Sarasota County on the Sarasota County Commission for eight years, defeated Charles A. Bear with 65% of the vote.
“My love and respect goes out to all the volunteers and voters in Sarasota County,” he wrote in a text message after winning the Republican nomination. “In the general election, I will do everything in my power to unseat a liberal bureaucrat who has been in office for 49 years.”
According to the election official, Bear had 35% of the vote on Tuesday evening.
Bear, reached Tuesday night after the election results were announced, said everyone who voted for him should vote for Ford-Coates in November. He said he has worked for 23 years either in a tax office or for software companies that support tax offices and that position puts him above party politics.
“There is only one candidate who can win this race in November,” he said. “And that is Barbara Ford-Coates.”
Moran’s position at Florida’s PACE Funding Agency has recently come under fire as the government agency faces multiple taxing authorities in the Florida Supreme Court over a Leon County District Court ruling that briefly appeared to allow PACE programs to operate statewide without local oversight.
With the Senate’s Bill 770, the state parliament effectively abolished this possibility this year.
Clean Energy property appraisal programs were created to provide a financing option for property owners who had difficulty accessing traditional lending options or did not have the money to make necessary renovations. Renovations include rooftop solar panels, solar water heaters, energy efficient air conditioning, cool roofs, impact resistant windows, insulation and more.
However, the controversial program has also been criticized by consumer advocates because the assessments result in a tax lien on the property and allow local tax collectors to act as debt collectors for private lenders. If payments are not made, a Florida homeowner’s property can be sold after just two years for unpaid taxes.
Moran has stated that if he wins the general election, he will resign from his position at the Florida PACE Funding Agency.
