Manatee Commissioner Satcher ignored public records request, new lawsuit claims
A new lawsuit is urging Manatee County Commissioner James Satcher to comply with a public records request that may shine light on an effort to fire County Administrator Cheri Coryea.
According to court documents, Satcher has failed to comply with a Nov. 20 request that sought text messages, call logs and social media messages. Michael Barfield, who filed the suit Monday morning, said he made several attempts to contact Satcher for an update on the request without any response.
“I waited two weeks and, considering the circumstances, I was more than patient. I wanted to make sure to get this in front of the court as quickly as possible,” said Barfield, a Sarasota-based paralegal consultant.
Barfield, who also volunteers as president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, did not file the lawsuit on behalf of the organization.
Satcher and a lawyer acting on his behalf did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.
After defeating former Commissioner Priscilla Whisenant Trace in the Republican primary earlier this year, Satcher won his seat representing District 1 on the Manatee County Commission in November. His district includes parts of Palmetto, Parrish and East Bradenton.
Barfield’s request came just one day after Satcher joined commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge, George Kruse and Vanessa Baugh to support an effort to terminate County Administrator Cheri Coryea’s contract. Reached for comment Monday afternoon, Barfield said he suspected coordination and collusion among the newly elected board members.
“I have to agree with the commissioners who say it’s ‘premeditated’ and ‘orchestrated.’ I’ve been around Sunshine Law violations long enough to smell one,” said Barfield.
Others say they believed Baugh and the newly elected commissioners had pre-planned the effort to fire Coryea, as well. Former Commissioner Betsy Benac expressed similar concerns in a Nov. 24 Bradenton Herald op-ed, writing that “anyone who has followed the four candidates on social media knew they were working together to create a ‘conservative agenda.’”
Records requests have also been made of Van Ostenbridge, Kruse and Baugh, Barfield said. While they have not been named in this lawsuit, he said he expects he may widen the suit to name them as defendants, too.
In an order signed Monday afternoon, Circuit Judge Charles Sniffen ordered Satcher to respond within five days to determine why the documents should not be turned over. Barfield will then have five days to respond to their argument.
In the meantime, Sniffen ordered Satcher to preserve all related records until further order of the court.
“(Satcher) has to produce the records. There’s just no question about that,” Barfield said. “I’m confident a judge will follow the law on this, and it’s very clear what the law is.”
Satcher previously denied any advanced planning or coordination with other commissioners but noted that he was particularly unhappy about the county’s recent $32.5 million acquisition of land along Lena Road. During the board’s Nov. 19 discussion about moving to fire Coryea, he said he was surprised that other commissioners didn’t see that action coming.
“Everyone that was running for election had very public comments about what was happening at Lena Road. I’m almost surprised — of course, it was expected,” Satcher said.
This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 4:16 PM.
