Bradenton mayor’s election race sees claims of corruption and lies between candidates

Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown is seeking reelection against former Councilman Bill Sanders, a frequent critic of the city’s leadership.

Brown, 57, was elected mayor in 2020 after serving three terms as a Ward 3 councilman. Sanders, 71, was elected in 2018 after unseating a longtime Ward 4 councilman. He lost his bid for a second term in 2022.

There is no love lost between the two candidates. Brown has been the target of complaints, insults and accusations from Sanders, who has called the mayor “corrupt” and claimed without evidence that he has used city resources for personal political gain.

“He is a very dirty evil person,” Sanders said of Brown.

The mayor has repeatedly dismissed Sanders’ claims, characterizing the former councilman as a chronic liar who has failed to prove any accusations.

“All he does is lie,” Brown said of Sanders. “I’ve lived it for six years.”

Who is Bill Sanders?

Background: Originally from Indiana, Sanders has a degree in business administration and led a career in business and finance management, according to his campaign bio.

Top priorities: Sanders says top priorities include addressing Bradenton’s frequent sewage spills, improving traffic and infrastructure and addressing “police force disagreements with the current administration.”

“I see our community needs strong leadership,” Sanders said. “We have not been transparent with the citizens on numerous issues. Our failure on our sewer spillage is the number one issue, and I am worried there is more that we do not know.”

“Day one of my administration, I will visit our facilities of which I have been denied access to understand our current (wastewater) plant to see if it is a viable option or build a new plant. Turnover at our Public Works Department is concerning. Many have left and I feel this could be one of the contributing issues to its failed response.”

Sanders said he would also look for ways to help residents cover the cost of fixing damaged private sewer lines that connect to the city’s infrastructure — a requirement of the city’s legal settlement with Suncoast Waterkeeper and other environmental groups in 2022.

Sanders said he would increase transparency with residents and expand access to government meetings and records, including a plan to introduce livestreamed city meetings and at least one evening council meeting per month.

Sanders also expressed concerns about an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by a former Bradenton police officer against the Bradenton Police Department and the city. Sanders said changes in the agency’s leadership “will be imminent” if he is elected.

“Our current administration has created a cultural environment that is toxic to the officers with animosity that will require change in a positive trusting way to serve the officers on the street and our citizens’ confidence in our force to protect our city,” Sanders said.

Other initiatives Sanders said he would implement include traffic flow and synchronization improvements, putting “a hold on building” until infrastructure issues are resolved, term limits for the mayor and council members and ordering “an independent audit” of the city’s previous administration.

How do you envision the future of Bradenton?: “Great,” Sanders said. “We are still the city to come visit, work and play. We need more downtown shopping and entertainment for our residents, with activities that drive visitation. (We need to) become a community of the people, not development.”

Why vote for Sanders?: “(I have) an aggressive plan for more jobs, shopping and citizen input,” Sanders said. “I will work every day as a strong mayor form of government with a hands-on approach to implement timely action to the citizens.”

“My 40-year business and finance career has offered me a better understanding of how to fix these issues based on my past experiences in business and implementation to satisfy the public and the complicated issues we face,” Sanders said. “My positions of management of billion-dollar corporations with numerous locations in the U.S. and in other countries has offered me experience with such issues as environmental contamination, traffic issues, water runoff and other issues for our locations that require experience and planning.”

Who is Gene Brown?

Background: Brown is a Bradenton native and vice president and chief operating officer of Brown & Sons Funeral Homes and Crematory, a local family business that was established in 1975.

What are some of the accomplishments you are proud of from your first term as mayor?: “One of the biggest things is the civility and positivity we brought back to City Hall that was not there because of a dysfunctional council member,” Brown said. “We brought that back.”

For three years in a row now we’ve lowered the millage rate. That was a big goal, to make sure that we’re good stewards of the taxpayers’ money.”

Brown said he is also proud of the progress the city has made toward improving the city’s troubled sewer system and wastewater plant.

“A problem that took 40 years to create isn’t going to be fixed overnight, but we’ve got a ‘face it and fix it’ attitude,” Brown said. “We came up with a plan, and we’ve got $120 million that we’re putting toward a solution.”

Brown noted that the majority of the federal stimulus money the city received from the American Rescue Plan in 2022 went directly toward lining city pipes and other wastewater system improvements.

Brown said that the new clarifier currently under construction at the wastewater plant will greatly improve the plant’s capacity and performance during wet weather, which is when it typically gets overwhelmed and pollutes the Manatee River with sewage.

Brown also touted his administration’s move to secure a lobbyist for Bradenton in the state legislature.

“Now we have a lobbyist, we’ve brought somewhere close to $25 million back to our city that we spent very little to get. That’s a great return,” Brown said.

Brown also noted his administration’s efforts to increase wages for police and public safety employees and the city’s backing of a new law enforcement training center in East Manatee County that will serve the Bradenton Police Department and Manatee Technical College Law Enforcement Academy.

Brown said he’s also proud of the city’s role in the expansion of the Bradenton Riverwalk and the revitalization of the Old Manatee district.

“All of this takes a team, and I’m proud of the work we’ve done,” Brown said.

Top priorities: In a second term, Brown said he would pursue more attainable workforce housing, infrastructure upgrades, traffic fixes and downtown connectivity.

Brown said he would continue to make improvements to the city’s troubled sewer system and wastewater plant as quickly as possible.

He explained that some of the progress has been slow because of circumstances outside of the city’s control, including permits that take years to attain. After recent hurricanes, Brown said he had the chance to speak with Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden, and he advocated for speeding up the permitting process.

“They’ve got to work on giving us this stuff quicker,” Brown said.

Brown said there is an opportunity to add as many as 500 additional units of workforce housing in Bradenton over the next couple of years.

Other improvements in the works include a third recreational field at LECOM Park, efforts to help the Village of the Arts thrive

There are so many great things happening,” Brown said. “We’ve got seven or eight projects on the board at a time.”

Addressing Sanders’ political attacks: “It’s frustrating because my integrity is one of the things that I’ve built in this community,” Brown said.

Brown accused Sanders of frequently being untruthful and taking credit for initiatives that were started before Sanders’ time on the council, including the City Centre Parking Facility and the addition of the SpringHill Suites hotel in downtown Bradenton.

How do you envision the future of Bradenton?: “If we can give these younger folks who are starting out a place to live, that’s great. If we can create a place where people can live, work and play without ever getting in their car, that’s great,” Brown said.

“We’ve got to bring the City of Bradenton into that next generation of opportunity. That’s what I’m really proud of that we started, and that’s what I want to continue.”

Why vote for Brown?: “My family is seven generations in Bradenton. It’s very important for what we do to make positive generational changes for our community,” Brown said. “I’m proud of my 36 years raising money for the (Manatee High Football) boosters, my work with the Boys and Girls Clubs and the many other ways I’m involved in this community. That’s what it’s all about.”

I think we’ve brought civility to City Hall, made sure that we’re good stewards of the taxpayer dollar and set up generational changes that will be positive for our future,” Brown said.

Sanders has controversial record

Sanders’ time in office was marked by several controversies, including claims against the councilman for defamation and an investigation that found he displayed “abusive and threatening behavior” toward city employees.

On City Council, Sanders frequently clashed with Brown and other council members, but controversy began swirling while he was still a candidate.

Sanders secured his 2018 city council victory by defeating former Councilman Bemis Smith, who was seeking a fifth term.

Sanders’ campaign painted Bradenton’s elected officials and government as corrupt, setting up animosity between Sanders and other city officials and staff that would shape the rest of his time in office.

During that campaign, Sanders also accused his opponent Smith of “running a criminal enterprise.” He made several other public criminal complaints against Smith, including an allegation that Smith was involved in a plot to tamper with the brake lines on Sanders’ recreational vehicle. Bradenton Police Department found that accusation, and others made by Sanders, to be unfounded.

“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.

After losing the election, Smith filed a defamation lawsuit against Sanders. A settlement reached in 2022 required Sanders to pay Smith $175,000, but he was not required to admit guilt in the case.

Also in 2022, Sanders was threatened with a defamation lawsuit over statements he made about retired Circuit Court Judge Gregory Holder. Holder had been tapped by Brown to conduct an independent review of allegations made by a former Bradenton police officer against Bradenton Police Chief Melanie Bevan.

But after Holder cleared Bevan of wrongdoing, Sanders questioned the judge’s credentials at a public event, where he falsely claimed that Holder had been “reprimanded by the Supreme Court” and “removed from the bench.”

Holder later threatened a lawsuit, and Sanders admitted to making false statements about the judge.

“These events have taught me a very important lesson: Always tell the truth,” an apology letter signed by Sanders said.

Complaints about Sanders’ behavior toward city staff came to the public’s attention in 2022 when three separate complaints were raised against the councilman. One complaint said Sanders had made City Hall “a miserable place to come each day.”

City officials launched an independent investigation and a law firm interviewed nearly 30 past and present city officials and staff about Sanders’ behavior. The investigation found substantial evidence that Sanders had routinely berated employees, publicly embarrassed them and tried to coerce them into breaking city protocol for his benefit, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.

Sanders dismissed the investigation as “a political distraction” and “a lot of lies and innuendo.” But when the behavior allegedly continued, city officials opted to ban Sanders from accessing part of City Hall to shield staff from further abuse.

In 2019, a police report described Sanders as “drunk and starting problems” when he initiated a drunken physical altercation at a local seafood festival hosted by the Hernando de Soto Historical Society.

Sanders initially told a Bradenton Herald reporter that a festival volunteer had touched him first and he was acting in self-defense when he fought back. But video showed that Sanders was the one who initiated physical violence, grabbing the volunteer by the shirt and not letting go. As a result of the incident, the society banned Sanders from all future events.