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The Villages
Friday, March 29, 2024

Suspended commissioner files to run again as appointed successor suddenly resigns

Diane Spencer
Oren Miller 1
Oren Miller

A suspended Sumter County commissioner has filed paperwork to run for the seat from which he was removed by the governor, as the governor’s appointee abruptly stepped aside the same day.

Oren Miller of the Village of Sanibel filed paperwork Monday with the Sumter County Supervisor of Elections Office to seek the District 5 seat to which he was elected in 2020.

In a plot twist worthy of “As The World Turns,” Villager Diane Spencer, who was appointed to Miller’s seat last month by Gov. Ron DeSantis and filed last week to run for the seat, abruptly resigned Monday from the appointed position. She cited a “medical emergency,” according to an exclusive announcement in The Villages Daily Sun. No word if she will be resigning from the hospital board or her seat on the board of the North Sumter County Utility Dependent District, of which she serves as vice chairman. She did answer her phone Monday night when Villages-News.com called seeking comment.

County Administrator Bradley Arnold held the Bible as Diane Spencer took the oath of office
County Administrator Bradley Arnold held the Bible as Diane Spencer took the oath of office.

That would leave Miller alone – at least for the moment – in the District 5 race.

The seat would not normally be up for election until 2024. However, the Sumter County Supervisor of Elections site indicates the District 5 seat will be on the Nov. 8, 2022 ballot.

Miller was arrested last year on a charge of perjury. He is accused of communicating with fellow Commissioner Gary Search by phone in violation of the Florida Sunshine Law, and then lying about it. Search is also facing a perjury charge and has also been suspended.

In his filing on Monday, Miller attached a letter to his paperwork. The letter was addressed to Supervisor of Elections Bill Keen and reads as follows:

My term as Sumter County Commissioner for District 5 extends through November 5, 2024. Therefore, my filing to qualify to run, and my actual running, in the 2022 Republican Primary is not a waiver of my right to contest:

a) The suspension from my duly elected position as Sumter County Commissioner for District 5; and

b) The appointment of Ms. Diane Spencer to my seat.

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