Bradenton councilman settles defamation lawsuit, admits to ‘false statements’ during debate
City Councilman Bill Sanders recently settled a defamation lawsuit and was threatened with another, documents show, just two months after an investigation found he has displayed “abusive and threatening behavior” at City Hall.
Sanders paid $175,000 in the settlement with former Bradenton City Councilman Bemis Smith, who filed the defamation lawsuit in April 2019, shortly after losing in a landslide to Sanders. Defamation means false statements were made to injure someone’s reputation.
In what became a heated campaign, Sanders accused Smith of “running a criminal enterprise,” and several other allegations that led to legal action.
The settlement agreement, obtained by the Bradenton Herald, did not require Sanders to admit guilt in the case, but it does “forever discharge” Smith from pursuing further legal action against Sanders for his “alleged statements or other acts or omissions” relating to the 2018 election for the Ward 4 seat on the Bradenton City Council.
Sanders filed a criminal complaint against Smith during the 2018 election, suggesting that the former councilman had tampered with the brake lines on his motor home. An investigation by the Bradenton Police Department found no evidence that the brake lines had been cut.
Speaking with the Bradenton Herald, Smith said he is pleased with the settlement but would have preferred Sanders to issue an apology for statements made in the previous election.
The lawsuit, he said, should also be a lesson for future candidates.
“It was an effort to set the groundwork and let people in our area know that you can’t just go out and make stuff up, publish it in the paper, win an election and get away scot-free,” Smith said. “Even in an election, you have to have some truthful aspects.”
Retired judge threatens suit
This week, Sanders admitted to making false statements during a recent candidate debate for the Nov. 8 election.
Speaking during a debate hosted by the Manatee Tiger Bay Club in September, Sanders claimed the retired judge who reviewed allegations against Bradenton Police Chief Melanie Bevan had been “reprimanded by the Supreme Court” and “removed from the bench.”
In a blistering letter delivered Oct. 11, Gregory Holder’s attorney demanded an apology and a retraction from Sanders, arguing that the councilman made false statements to smear Holder’s reputation.
“Rather than respect the professional opinions formulated in the investigation by Mr. Holder and seek to question him about the results of his report, you have undertaken efforts to slander and defame Mr. Holder by contending he was removed or involuntarily taken out of public service,” the letter said. “These are false statements.”
Sanders issued his retraction Monday by agreeing to the pre-written apology that Holder’s lawyer provided in the cease-and-desist letter.
If Sanders had not done so, Holder would have filed a lawsuit, according to the letter.
“You were never removed from public office, and you did not deserve to (be) subjected to the slanderous comments that I made,” Sanders said in the letter written by Holder’s attorney. “These events have taught me a very important lesson: Always tell the truth.”
Sanders’ comments impacted 2018 election, opponents says
In court documents reviewed by the Bradenton Herald, Smith’s lawyers said they used Sanders’ own statements to make the case that he lied to win the election. Sanders, a political newcomer at the time, earned 62% of the vote against Smith.
“I’m not a politician, so some of the things that were in the campaign — that’s not the best way that I would probably present myself, but I’ve been told that’s what it takes to win an election, so that’s what I did,” Sanders said in a 2018 Election Day interview with the Bradenton Herald.
Smith’s legal team took that statement to mean that Sanders listened to campaign consultants and knowingly spread false information, according to the lawsuit.
As Smith’s lawsuit moved forward, a pivotal moment came during the deposition of a former Bradenton police officer, who said Sanders accidentally called him.
The officer said he overhead Sanders tell his legal team he “knew his brake lines weren’t cut,” and that his own mechanic agreed the brake lines failed due to “rust and wear and tear.”
The officer’s statements line up with the department’s investigation at the time, which concluded that “the brake line is not cut, but it is rusted.”
According to the lawsuit, Sanders later alleged, without evidence, that Smith was responsible for the damage to the brake lines on his motor home.
“One can only assume, based on traditional political situations, that his false attacks had some substantial impact on the race, but there’s obviously no way to quantify that,” Smith said.
During a City Council meeting last week, Sanders downplayed the settlement, calling it a “business decision to cut the cord,” because of expensive attorney fees.
On Monday afternoon, Sanders declined to provide further comment.
While Sanders claimed the case “never went to court,” legal documents show Smith withdrew the defamation lawsuit two weeks after agreeing to receive a $175,000 payout.
Sanders pushes back on ‘personal attack’
Smith’s appearance at the latest City Council meeting agitated Sanders, who interrupted the public comment period, argued with Mayor Gene Brown and, without evidence, claimed the mayor invited the former councilman to speak during the meeting.
“I would like to respond to this. This is a personal attack in an election, and if I’m not allowed to respond, I will file a complaint against the city,” said Sanders. “Mr. Mayor, let the attorney give an opinion today on this. You cannot come in and attack a sitting councilman 30 days before an election.”
On Monday afternoon, Smith denied that accusation.
“That’s absolutely not true. Nobody invited me down there,” Smith said. “I have watched council go for months, if not years, where it’s all about shouting and Mr. Sanders is disrupting the meetings. I have no other way to speak to him.”
City Attorney Scott Rudacille noted that, despite his previous recommendation, city officials have not voted to adopt a policy that limits personal attacks against board members during public comment.
“We have had some really vicious personal attacks occur at citizen comment over the last two years without objection from the councilman in Ward 4,” said Rudacille, referring to Sanders.
“I have recommended that the council consider implementing some restrictions on the nature of those comments. It is within the authority of this council to do so, but it has not done so to this point.”
Investigation of hostile work environment
Sanders’ recent legal troubles are the latest hurdle in his path toward re-election in November. Sanders is facing two challengers, Kurt Landefeld and Lisa Gonzalez Moore, in the citywide Ward 4 election.
Earlier this year, Sanders became the target of an investigation after three city employees accused him of creating a hostile work environment.
A third-party investigator spoke with more than two dozen current and former city staffers before concluding that Sanders has shown a pattern of “abusive and threatening behavior” toward staff.
Sanders has pushed back on the investigation’s findings, arguing that the report did not link the allegations against him to specific staffers which made it impossible for him to face his accusers.
However, Sanders’ fellow council members have been critical of his behavior, as well. In recent board meetings, Councilwomen Jayne Kocher and Marianne Barnebey said they were embarrassed by Sanders’ behavior and hoped the city could do something to protect staffers.
Bradenton City Council will host a public meeting Wednesday to review board policies. New rules for public comment and council member conduct are expected topics of discussion.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at City Hall, 101 Old Main Street.
This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 3:25 PM.
