Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed two women from The Villages to fill the seats of two suspended commissioners in Sumter County.
Diane Spencer of the Village of Gilchrist and Roberta Ulrich of the Village of Bridgeport at Miona Shores were appointed Friday by the governor.
Spencer will be taking over the seat to which Oren Miller of the Village of Sanibel was elected. Ulrich will be filling the seat to which Gary Search of the Village of Amelia was elected.
Spencer was re-elected in 2020 to the North Sumter County Utility Dependent District. She made the motion to abandon the recycling program in The Villages and to instead burn the material. She previously served on the Community Development District 9 Board of Supervisors and in 2015 she played a pivotal role in killing a move to stripe the multi-modal paths in The Villages. She also serves on the hospital board.
Ulrich is active in Republican politics and in 2019 paid a visit to the White House with other GOP women from The Villages.
Miller and Search were suspended by the governor after they were charged with perjury. They will be up for a hearing Friday in Marion County Court. Both are seeking to have their cases dismissed.