One year ago, former Sumter County Commissioner Oren Miller was in jail. On Thursday, Miller appeared before the judge who put him behind bars and was declared “not guilty.”
It’s been a long, difficult journey for the Village of Sanibel resident, but he’s got his eye firmly set on the future.
“I can’t wait to get back to work for people of Sumter County,” Miller said after Judge Anthony Tatti declared he was not guilty in a hearing in Marion County Court.
Miller’s case went before the appeal panel in September. Miller’s conviction on a charge of perjury was overturned in November.
Now Miller is demanding that Gov. Ron DeSantis reinstate him to the seat on the county commission. DeSantis suspended Miller at the time of his initial arrest. Thus far, the governor’s office has been unresponsive to Miller’s demand.
Miller said he is also seeking more than $100,000 in back pay that he should have earned during his elected term as commissioner.
The perjury charge against Miller stemmed from interviews with the prosecutor’s office about phone calls Miller had with fellow former Commissioner Gary Search. Miller and Search were elected to the Sumter County Commission in 2020. Their election came after a huge property tax increase in 2019 that was seen as a sweetheart deal for the Developer of The Villages.