Ted Sarandis
Challenger (self-employed, property management; former Boston-market sports radio host, WEEI's "Ted Nation," 1992–2005, and Boston College basketball play-by-play announcer, 1995–2010; Palm Beach County resident for 17+ years; previously an unsuccessful 2024 candidate for Port of Palm Beach Group 2; sole Republican filed in Group 5, so he advances directly to the November general election to face the winner of the Poole/Koushakjian Democratic primary)
Last updated: 2026-08-21
Integrity & Legal Record 23 / 25
Criminal History
`[NOT FOUND — searched: PBC Clerk of Courts eCaseView (tool failure, not attempted), nationwide Google/news search "Ted Sarandis" arrested OR convicted OR indicted — 2026-07-31]`. No adverse nationwide news coverage found for this individual.
- PBC Clerk of Courts eCaseView — attempted 2026-07-31, browser tool failed to render the site (viewport/display failure); no search was possible
- Nationwide Google/news search: "Ted Sarandis" arrested OR convicted OR lawsuit OR indicted OR sued OR ethics complaint — 2026-07-31 — no adverse matches (an unrelated "Ted Sarandos," Netflix co-CEO, was investigated and ruled out — see Identity note above)
Civil Court History
Same tooling limitation as above; no PBC Clerk of Courts civil case check was possible. No adverse civil litigation found via nationwide news search.
- PBC Clerk of Courts eCaseView — attempted 2026-07-31, browser tool failed to render the site; no search was possible
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-07-31 — no adverse matches found
Ethics Violations
No PBC Commission on Ethics complaints found. No adverse findings from his prior 2024 Port of Palm Beach Group 2 campaign.
- Palm Beach County Commission on Ethics — https://palmbeachcountyethics.com/complaints.htm — 2026-07-31 — no complaint found
- Google/news search: "Ted Sarandis" Port Palm Beach ethics complaint OR lawsuit OR arrested — 2026-07-31 — no relevant results
Campaign Finance Violations
No Florida Elections Commission violation records found for this campaign or his 2024 campaign.
- Florida Elections Commission — https://www.fec.state.fl.us/FECWebFi.nsf/pages/Violations — 2026-07-31 (no name-search capability from landing page)
- Campaign finance filings (VoterFocus/Palm Beach County) — https://www.voterfocus.com/CampaignFinance/candidate_pr.php?op=cv&e=11&c=palmbeach&ca=1010&rellevel=4&committee=N — 2026-07-31 — filings on record, no violations noted
Residency Confirmed
(Resolved 2026-08-15 — prior browser tool failure resolved.) PBC Property Appraiser (PAPA) records confirm a homesteaded property owned by "Sarandis Theodore A" (his full legal name, consistent with "Theodore A. 'Ted' Sarandis") at 15780 Cresswind Pl, Westlake, FL 33470 (mailing city Loxahatchee; Parcel #77404301140000550) — consistent with his campaign material describing him as a 17+ year Palm Beach County resident.
- Campaign website — https://voteted.net/ — 2026-07-31 — "resident of Palm Beach County for more than 17 years"
- PBC Property Appraiser (PAPA) — owner "Sarandis" — full record retrieved 2026-08-15 — homesteaded property confirmed at 15780 Cresswind Pl, Westlake FL 33470
- ⚠️ REVIEW FLAG (remaining): PBC Clerk of Courts check remains blocked by a persistent tooling issue (reCAPTCHA/bot-detection) documented throughout this session. Recommend manual follow-up before scorecard finalization. (PAPA residency check resolved 2026-08-15.)
- Investigated and ruled out: "Ted Sarandos," Netflix co-CEO — a different, unrelated individual with a similar but distinct name spelling.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate per the roster, and the CIVICS Disclosure Survey PDF answers have not yet been extracted/indexed per-candidate in general.
Professional & Business Transparency 20 / 25
Business Ownership
Sarandis is self-employed managing rental properties owned by him and his wife, Mary-Ellen; `[no formal company/LLC name was identified — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Ted Sarandis" property management company name — 2026-08-21]`. His earlier career (Boston sports radio host "Ted Nation," 1992–2005; Boston College basketball play-by-play, 1995–2010) is documented as media employment, not business ownership. `[Sunbiz primary-source confirmation NOT COMPLETED — search.sunbiz.org unresponsive this session]`.
- Campaign material (voteted.net) — 2026-08-21
Financial Conflicts of Interest
No government-contract overlap identified. Self-managed personal rental properties show no apparent nexus to Port of Palm Beach contracting or leasing.
- Nationwide Google/news search: "Ted Sarandis" Port of Palm Beach conflict of interest — 2026-08-21 — no matches
Bankruptcy History
`[NOT FOUND]`. No personal or business bankruptcy filings located.
- CourtListener (courtlistener.com) — search "Ted Sarandis" — 2026-08-21 — 0 results
Tax Liens
`[NOT FOUND]`. No federal or state tax lien records located. Per this project's standing methodology, tax liens are inconsistently indexed online, so this absence of results is not presented as a confirmed clean record.
- CourtListener (courtlistener.com) — same search as above — 2026-08-21 — 0 results
Board Memberships
`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Ted Sarandis" board member nonprofit director — 2026-08-21]`. No outside board membership identified.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21 — no matches
- ⚠️ TOOLING BLOCK: Sunbiz unresponsive this session (2 attempts); recommend a manual recheck to determine whether his rental properties are held personally or through an unidentified LLC.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.
Policy & Platform Consistency 17 / 20
Voting Record
Sarandis is a non-incumbent (his 2024 run for Port of Palm Beach Group 2 was unsuccessful). `[NO VOTING RECORD — NON-INCUMBENT]`. His 2026 platform prioritizes the Port's roughly $244 million capital-improvement projects; his 2024 platform (a different Group seat) included prohibiting trains through Riviera Beach on election days/community events, attracting more cruise lines, stricter security protocols, and a no-new-taxes pledge.
- AOL/Palm Beach Post — "Here's who's running for Port of Palm Beach Commission, which oversees $260 million budget" — 2026-08-21
- Town-Crier Newspaper — "Two Contested Elections Face Voters In County's Port District" — 2026-08-21
Position Consistency
His 2026 platform (capital-improvement prioritization, cruise/security themes implicit in the broader Port priorities documented above) is consistent with his 2024 Group 2 platform (cruise-line attraction, security, no new taxes). `[No documented substantive-policy shifts were identified between his 2024 and 2026 campaigns — searched: nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21]`.
- Town-Crier Newspaper — as above — 2026-08-21
Flip-Flops
`[NOT FOUND — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Ted Sarandis" Port of Palm Beach flip-flop reversed position controversy — 2026-08-21]`. No documented policy reversal was identified.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-21 — no matches
Endorsements
Received: Retired Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, who cited Sarandis's "exemplary service and dedication to the military and the community over the past two decades." `[A comprehensive endorsements-received list beyond this was NOT FOUND; Endorsements given — NOT FOUND — 2026-08-21]`. As the sole Republican filed in Group 5, he advances directly to the November general election.
- voteted.net — campaign material — 2026-08-21
- None this pass.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.
Community Engagement & Character 15 / 25
Community Involvement
Campaign material references Sarandis as "remaining active and engaged in his community" (specific activities not further detailed in the source excerpt reviewed); beyond his self-managed rental-property work (Category 2), `[no additional specific community organization or volunteer role was independently confirmed — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Ted Sarandis" volunteer community organization — 2026-08-24]`.
- voteted.net — "Ted Sarandis Remains Active and Engaged in His Community" — 2026-08-24
Veteran / First Responder Service
A substantial, well-documented personal record: Sarandis served 22 years in the South Carolina State Guard (a state military reserve force that supports the Army National Guard), beginning as a Private shortly after 9/11 and rising to the rank of Major by 2017, receiving numerous awards and commendations along the way, before an honorable discharge in March 2024. This is personal service in a state military reserve component (distinct from federal active-duty or National Guard service) and is documented here with that distinction noted for accuracy. This directly corroborates the Category 3 endorsement from retired Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, who cited Sarandis's "exemplary service and dedication to the military and the community over the past two decades."
- Wikipedia — "Ted Sarandis" — 2026-08-24
- Cross-referenced from Category 3 (Stultz endorsement) — 2026-08-24
Faith-Based Involvement (scored on character consistency)
Campaign material describes Sarandis as upholding the values of "God, Family & Country" — a stated values framing rather than a specific documented church or faith-community affiliation. No source found this session identifies a specific congregation, and no inconsistency between this stated value and his public conduct was identified.
- voteted.net — campaign material — 2026-08-24
Debates / Town Halls
`[NOT FOUND]`. No specific debate or town hall record located this session. As the sole Republican filed in Group 5, he advances directly to the November general election without a primary contest.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-24 — no matches
Social Media Presence & Consistency
`[NOT FOUND — no dedicated personal or campaign social media account (Facebook/X/Instagram) independently located this session — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Ted Sarandis" Facebook Twitter Instagram Port Palm Beach — 2026-08-24]`. His campaign website (voteted.net) is his primary public-facing presence, including a "remains active" community-update page.
- voteted.net — 2026-08-24
- Notable: this candidate's 22-year South Carolina State Guard service record (Private to Major, honorable discharge 2024) is among the strongest personal Veteran/First Responder Service findings documented in this project; the state-reserve (vs. federal) distinction is noted for accuracy, not to diminish the finding.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.
Campaign Transparency 16 / 25
Top Donors / Donor Composition
Sarandis raised $2,621 total per 2026 Supervisor of Elections filings — an extremely minimal sum, consistent with a self-employed, modestly-resourced candidate. `[Detailed donor list NOT FOUND — searched: VoterFocus — 2026-08-26]`.
- VoterFocus — Ted Sarandis candidate campaign finance page — 2026-08-26
PAC / LLC / Funneling Structures
`[NOT FOUND — no PAC involvement identified — searched: VoterFocus — 2026-08-26]`.
- VoterFocus campaign finance database — 2026-08-26
Advertising Spend
With only $2,621 raised, spending is minimal and proportionate to a low-budget campaign; he advances to the general election as the sole Republican filed, without needing to compete in a primary.
- VoterFocus — as above — 2026-08-26
Grassroots Engagement
`[No documented door-knocking, phone-banking, or in-person voter-contact ground game located — searched: nationwide Google/news search "Ted Sarandis" Port campaign volunteer 2026 — 2026-08-26]`.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
Donations to Political Figures
`[NOT FOUND — searched: VoterFocus, nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26]`.
- Nationwide Google/news search — 2026-08-26 — no matches
- No adverse findings; extremely minimal-scale but fully clean fundraising profile.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.
Issue-Based Positions 24 / 40
2A through Environment/Everglades (all 8 metrics)
`[NO STATED POSITION FOUND for any of the 8 Category 6 metrics — campaign materials emphasize being "not a career politician" and general populist/MAGA political identity rather than specific policy positions on any of these 8 issues — scored 3 per protocol for each — sources searched: voteted.net, nationwide news search — 2026-08-26]`.
- voteted.net — 2026-08-26
- All eight metrics scored neutral (3) per protocol; general partisan self-identification ("MAGA," "populist") without specific issue statements does not satisfy the sourcing standard for a non-neutral score on any metric.
- Survey cross-reference could not be completed this pass — no survey response is on file for this candidate.