‘Unhinged Behavior’ By Councilor Limits His City Hall Access: Perry

BRADENTON, FL — City Councilor Bill Sanders’ access to Bradenton City Hall has been restricted “based upon recent events and a continuing pattern of concerning and unhinged behavior,” City Administrator Rob Perry told department heads and the city’s legal team in an Oct. 20 email.

Perry wrote, “I am left with no choice but to take extraordinary action to restrict (his) access to our administrative staff and their work area.”

Sanders' access to the administrative area of the city hall complex has been revoked and Perry asked department directors to suspend communication with him.

Patch has reached out to Sanders for comment and will update this story when he responds.

Jeannie Roberts, the city’s communications coordinator, told Patch, “I think it’s safe to say that employees feel freer and more relaxed about doing their jobs. It has made a big difference.”

Earlier this summer, a third-party investigation by a law firm into allegations that Sanders, who is seeking re-election, created a hostile work environment for city employees were found to be “substantiated.”

“While he is not a city employee subject to dismissal, if he were a city employee, there is no doubt his employment would be terminated for his egregious, repeated violations of this policy,” the investigator wrote.

In his Oct. 20 email, Perry wrote that Sanders “has proclaimed that ‘no rules’ apply to his official city conduct as it relates to interference with city staff or civility of behavior.

He also noted that at a recent workshop “there seemed to be a pushback from that councilman to address numerous well documented, regularly observed and often irrational deflected complaints of this behavior. In fact, over the last 24 hours alone, this unhinged behavior has once again reared its head with increasing, intensifying and continued hostility towards City Hall staff at a dangerous level. I simply cannot subject the safety, personal space or professional duties of our people to this threat to their well-being.”

The move to restrict Sanders’ access to city hall came after the Bradenton Herald published on Oct. 20 a letter signed by a dozen city workers describing “hostile” workplace conditions.

“We are not nameless or faceless or anonymous. Our names are all listed in the investigative report, which is public record,” they wrote in the letter. “We are employees who long ago reached our limit, but who have been trying to carry on with our duties despite Mr. Sanders’ bullying, intimidation and manipulation.”

In his email, Perry also said that during a housing committee meeting, Sanders “publicly confronted one of our employees in front of the entire committee and staff, and personally asked a signatory to the letter if she was afraid of him in front of the entire onlooking forum. Politely but scared, she tried to avoid the confrontation and returned to her office visibly upset and physically shaken. The councilman smirked, grinned and laughed from the (dais) after the confrontation.”

The city administrator added, “This is simply unacceptable, demoralizing, bullying. It evidences a pattern of highly, unprofessional behavior of an elected government official who has repeatedly proclaimed there are no rules that apply to him. I respectfully disagree and cannot in good conscience allow this to continue unabated. Other similar and recent incidents have also recently occurred that I am asking be documented.”