DeSantis appoints GOP leader to District 3 Sarasota County Commission seat

Neil Rainford, a leader in the Sarasota GOP, will succeed Nancy Detert as Sarasota County’s District 3 commissioner.

Detert passed away at the age of 78 on April 5. The office of Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a Friday press release that the governor has appointed Rainford to fill the remainder of Detert’s second term on the commission, which ends in November 2024. At that point, an election will be held for the District 3 seat.

Rainford, 36, is the secretary of the Republican Party of Sarasota County and senior project executive for Sarasota-based Mullet's Aluminum Products Inc., an architectural aluminum manufacturer. He’s also a member of the Sarasota County Planning Commission and previously served on the county's Charter Review Board.

Rainford is scheduled to take the oath of office Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. in the commission chambers of the Robert L. Anderson Administration Center in Venice. He'll then join the other county commissioners for their regularly scheduled meeting at 9 a.m.

Previous coverage: Tom Knight, Don Patterson, Becky Ayech applied for open Sarasota County Commission seat

And: Longtime Sarasota County leader Nancy Detert remembered for tenacious spirit

Several Republican sources with knowledge of the appointment discussions previously told the Herald-Tribune that Rainford was being considered for the appointment.

Former Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight, businessman Don Patterson and community advocate Becky Ayech were also among those who applied for the open seat. Knight told the Herald-Tribune last month that he planned to run for the District 3 seat in 2024, whether or not he was appointed to it.

Rainford said in a press release that taking the seat of "a legend like Nancy Detert" won't be easy.

“But I’m honored to be entrusted by Gov. DeSantis with this appointment to the Sarasota County Commission,” Rainford said. “We are consistently ranked as one of the top communities in the nation in which to live. So we are already doing a lot right.”

Rainford said in the release that his priorities on the commission will be infrastructure, business climate and workforce housing.

“We have to be a community that builds up and retains the next generation," he stated. "We can no longer be the community that sends off our sons and daughters to far away colleges to never see them return. We can be a place for diverse business interests, a place for young families to set down roots. That includes promoting innovation and diversity in housing that allows young families to get strong starts and build wealth in careers.”

Rainford, who earned his bachelor’s degree from Florida State University, is a member of Associated Builders and Contractors, the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association and the Sarasota-Manatee Area Manufacturers Association, according to the press release. He formerly served on the Board of Trustees of Tabernacle Church, and he has been married for 11 years and has a son.

Jack Brill, the chairman of the Republican Party of Sarasota County, said Rainford has been “a great member” of the business community and of the local party.

“We’re excited about the next generation of leadership stepping up to run our county for the future,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: DeSantis picks Neil Rainford for open Sarasota County commission seat