We need a Corruption Disruption
Sarasota's Prince of Dark Money has no business near School Board finances
This Tuesday, the Sarasota County School Board will have an opportunity to clean up their act when it comes to politicizing School Board governance.
Specifically, they have an opportunity to clean up their act when it comes to appointing a dark money partisan hack to lead on school board budget issues.
Last March, the now defeated School Board Chair Karen Rose nominated her campaign treasurer, Eric Robinson, to serve on the School Board finance committee. Robinson was already serving on the School Board audit committee (also a foolish choice).
Why is Robinson such an outrageous, irresponsible choice for either committee? Robinson’s status as Sarasota’s Prince of Dark Money should have been enough to disqualify him from appointment to any local government advisory board, much less an audit committee or finance committee. Robinson acts as treasurer for numerous political committees which engage in trashing candidates running for state and local offices, like Sarasota County School Board. The targeted candidates are community leaders who are not part of the donor political machine that feeds operators and consultants like Robinson, Anthony Pedicini and other dark money administrators.
Payments to Robinson for this work have been both inconsistent and lucrative. Lucrative because Robinson’s accounting firms have taken in at least $830,000 for his work as treasurer of political committees listed with the Florida Department of State. Inconsistent because payments for Robinson’s work as treasurer are all over the map. Some political committees that Robinson administers, like Friends of Bridget Ziegler, have paid nothing for Robinson’s accounting services. There are other political committees, like A Better Sarasota, that pay Robinson ridiculous sums ($350-$500/month) for very little accounting (Robinson writing a check to pay himself) .
Most of Robinson’s political committees are registered with the state. But there are some which are registered with Sarasota County, like Sarasota Citizens for Our Schools.
Sarasota Citizens for Our Schools has taken in over $230,000 in contributions since 2014. Donors include the PACs Florida Courage ($75,000), Anthony Pedicini’s Citizens Alliance for Florida’s Economy ($10,000) and Robinson’s Citizens Against Taxation ($19,000).
Shuffling contributions from one political committee to another is the method Robinson and other dark money managers use to ensure that voters are in the dark about who is truly responsible for the defamatory, outrageous mailers. Such mailers were sent out by Sarasota Citizens for Our Schools for the recent School Board election.
The Robinson PAC Citizens Against Taxation was the first dark money PAC working in a Sarasota local election: Bridget Ziegler’s 2014 school board race. When Robinson was questioned about the origin of a contribution to that Ziegler-supporting PAC, he told the Herald Tribune “you’ll never find it” and “someone is paying me to do this”. Robinson made it clear who he really works for: his dark money PAC donors. His job is to keep voters in the dark.
In September 2023, Eric Robinson was reimbursed $12,281.40 for travel expenses from the political committee Sarasota Citizens for Our Schools. Last February, Robinson was paid $14,041.28 for “grassroot consulting” from this same political committee.
Sarasota Citizens for Our Schools paid Christian Ziegler’s firm, Microtargeted Media $47,550.38 in July, August and September of this year. Ziegler/Microtargeted Media provided text message services as well as digital advertising. Some of the Ziegler/Microtargeted Media text message services were likely for the August School Board election.
Some of the Ziegler/Microtargeted Media text message services may have been for the text messages that went out in late May asking voters if they would support Eric Robinson if he ran for School Board again. The filing deadline was in mid June, so Robinson was benefiting from funds from this political committee to poll voters about a potential run. We can only guess what those polling results were, but Eric Robinson chose not to run. Robinson is clearly focused on influencing the Sarasota County School Board. And Robinson is clearly focused on serving his true masters: his dark money donors.
Robinson was attempting to woo voters with how he gave his salary back when he was a school board member. Of course he doesn’t tell voters about his political committee “grassroot consulting” fees, his political committee accounting payments, or his political committee travel reimbursements. In addition to the “grassroot consulting” dollars from Sarasota Citizens for Our Schools, Robinson was paid $59,000 from his political committee Making a Better Tomorrow. Should voters be impressed that a dark money manager with his fingers in many political committee pies gave his school board salary back? Are Sarasota residents being served well by having such a dark money manager on influential school board financial advisory committees? Is this the best we can do? Clearly the School Board can do better.
During this Tuesday’s Sarasota County School Board workshop, the Board will be discussing an “Auditor Selection Committee Update”. That’s all the agenda item says. A review of the School Board’s financial representation decisions is in order.
School Board members who truly wish to serve the public owe it to their constituents to remove Eric Robinson from both committees (finance and audit) and replace him from the ample pool of capable, excellent, financially savvy professionals in Sarasota County whose loyalty will be to our students, our families, our community.
We deserve advisory board members whose loyalties are uncorrupted by the dark money machine which is polluting our elections.
Thank you Cathy. When he was a school board member, his children attended Out of door academy … are they now in a public college?
We do not need his corrupting influence anywhere near our schools .
Thank you for your deep dive into all of the pots Robinson has put his grubby little fingers. I agree, if Enos and Marinelli really want politics out of our schools, then removing him will tell the voters they mean it.