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Two Residents From The Villages Lose County Commission Seats After Perjury Charges

The two Sumter County commissioners were charged with perjury after allegedly violating Florida’s public access law.

There’s never a dull moment in Florida’s The Villages. Two Republican commissioners in Sumter County, where the elderly community is located, were suspended by Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday after they were charged with perjury last month, the Associated Press reported. Oren Miller and Gary Search allegedly lied to investigators looking into whether the two violated the state’s Sunshine Law, a public access statute that prevents two or more government officials from meeting without prior public notice. Miller claimed they hadn’t spoken much after January 2021, while Search claimed they hadn’t talked at all aside from commission meetings. However, prosecutors found multiple phone calls made after the January claim, including through July. The charges came after a swath of Villages residents were charged with voter fraud in the 2020 election.