Getting rid of a mayor isn’t quite as easy as a simple vote by a city commission.
That’s the word from Bradenton Beach city attorney Ricinda Perry to commissioners at a special meeting requested by Vice Mayor Jack Clarke and held Sept. 22 to begin proceedings to have Mayor Bill Shearon forfeit office.
Clarke alleged a litany of offenses by Shearon at the meeting.
Shearon, in his defense, submitted a nine-page document refuting Clarke’s claims.
Not to be outdone with documents, city attorney Ricinda Perry provided a 53-page report on removal of a mayor from office.
“This is the most serious charge against a mayor,” Perry told commissioners.
She also said the mayor could not be voted out of office at the meeting. He is entitled to due process and an attorney.
Perry said the forfeiture process would be “long and costly to the city” and, if the process were unsuccessful, Shearon might be awarded attorney costs by a judge.
Perry said the commission needs facts to move forward, not opinions. It needs to “create a charge against the mayor to give him an understanding of what he has violated, and gather evidence.”
Once evidence is collected, the first step is an evidentiary hearing. Following that, the forfeiture motion goes before a judge, Perry said.
While she did not have a timeframe for completion of the process, Perry noted that Shearon also has the right of appeal if his is forced to forfeit his office.
Perry said her role should not be as the prosecutor for the city because she must work with the mayor on a daily basis in the city administration.
Thus, the commission would have to hire an outside attorney to gather the evidence, take statements from witnesses and prepare a forfeiture of office case.
Commissioners Ed Straight and Janie Robertson said they needed time to read through the documents presented and Perry agreed. “The mayor is entitled to all due process available,” she said.
After more than two hours of discussion, commissioners voted 4-1 to continue the meeting on “initiation and authorization of forfeiture of office of Mayoral Office proceedings” to 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 6, at Bradenton Beach City Hall, 107 Gulf Drive N. Robertson voted against the motion.