He lost the election. Now, former Bradenton councilman is taking the winner to court

A former Bradenton city councilman is suing the man who ousted him from office, alleging his successor defamed his established character in the community.

Bemis Smith, who represented Ward 4 on the city council from 2002-18, filed a lawsuit in Manatee County Circuit Court on April 26 alleging that Bill Sanders — who handily beat him in the November election — defamed Smith during the race.

Smith said Tuesday he filed the lawsuit in part because he felt after the campaign, people were still talking about some of the allegations “until not very long ago.”

Smith compared it to what he said is being done on a national level in campaigns.

“I felt like the nastiness came off apparently what we’ve been seeing on a national level, especially based on his responses, especially at the end of the campaign,” Smith said.

Sanders declined to comment on the lawsuit other than to say he believes it is political, has no merit and will be taken care of in a courtroom.

The suit asks for damages exceeding $15,000, saying Sanders damaged the 61-year-old Smith’s reputation, profession and business.

Sanders’ attorney said in a May 21 response to the lawsuit that Smith has failed to mitigate his damages, adding Smith had no “actual damages” and the decision to seek damages is based on a “desire to harass (Sanders) as well as to retaliate against (Sanders) for successfully defeating (Smith) in the election.”

When Smith filed for re-election to his seat in February 2018, “he enjoyed an excellent reputation and was well respected in the city,” the lawsuit states. But during the months prior to the election, the lawsuit claims Sanders spread “deliberate falsehoods intended to impugn the integrity of (Smith).”

In a response, Sanders’ attorney denied the allegations. The response also said Sanders’ statements were opinions and not actionable.

Smith claimed Sanders changed his voter registration from Iowa to Bradenton to qualify to run for office, which Sanders’ attorney denied in a response to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit goes on to detail instances reported to the Bradenton Police Department in October and what the lawsuit called false statements made about Smith.

Sanders contacted Bradenton police on Oct. 11 to report concerns over one of Smith’s Facebook posts, alleging inaccurate information about the value of Sanders’ motor home was posted. Sanders told police that obtaining that information is only allowed by the vehicle’s registered owner.

A representative from the Tax Collector’s Office told police the registration fees and other information on a person’s vehicle are not public record; however, estimates for basic registration fees for vehicles can be found online.

When police arrived at Sanders’ home to get information on the motor home, Sanders was not able to produce a receipt from the purchase of the RV.

On Oct. 24, a Bradenton police investigator was assigned to look into possible threats made on Sanders’ Facebook page. A relative of Sanders told police she perceived a comment to be a threat and said she did not want a report taken but wanted it to be noted that she contacted law enforcement, according to the police report.

The person she alleged made the comment said he did not make any threat and would not threaten anyone.

A Bradenton Herald report citing the police report said a person used the term “hurt” in the post and was referring to feelings, saying that it was a misunderstanding between parties.

Police told the woman the post was not a threat that would rise to the level of a criminal investigation.

Also on Oct. 24, Sanders filed a report with police, reporting damage to his 2007 Chevrolet 5500 motor home. In the report, Sanders told police the brakes on his motor home “felt soft” when he tried to move it, and on a second attempt to stop the vehicle the brakes did not work at all, according to the report.

Sanders said the brake lines appeared to have been scratched or partially cut. A police officer did not get under the vehicle to check the lines after Sanders warned the lines were leaking, but he did notice a scratch on the brake lines near the front passenger side tire, according to the report.

Police dusted the RV for fingerprints but did not find any.

An investigator determined the line was rusted and it was leaking from where it was held against the frame with a clip, according to the police report.

Sanders alleged Smith was responsible for the damage, though admitted he could not prove it.

The lawsuit also mentions a statement Sanders made to the Bradenton Herald in an Oct. 24 report, calling Smith’s campaign a “criminal enterprise.”

The Bradenton Herald story in question states: “Smith said Sanders talks in vague terms about his background considering he cites extensive financial experience. Sanders said Smith’s ‘campaign has turned into a criminal enterprise. I didn’t create this, he created this. Not one person or in my family has said anything negative, and if they did, I want to know about it so I can put a stop to it.’ ”

Sanders is accused of saying he could not prove the allegedly false statements but reportedly said them to win the election, according to the lawsuit.

In his response, Sanders and his attorney denied the allegations, saying the Sanders did not publish the statements and that “actual non-altered statements” he made were true and that the statement was not defamatory.

Sanders also claimed the statements were for a legitimate public interest and are subject to a qualified privilege.

“Any and all of the actual statements made by this defendant (versus what was printed or said by others) as it relates to the allegations in the complaint were true when made,” the response from Sanders’ attorney states.