The revolving door of city clerks continues to spin in Bradenton Beach.
Gia Lancaster was fired from her position as city clerk after less than two months on the job during a hastily called Oct. 23 commission meeting.
Citing unexcused absences and failure to attend to deadline-driven city business in a timely manner, Mayor Bill Shearon called the commission to an emergency meeting to discuss the staffing issues related to the clerk.
After a discussion of Lancaster’s transgressions, the commission voted unanimously to terminate her employment.
It was later learned that Lancaster had an excuse for being absent from work the previous day. She was in jail.
Lancaster was arrested Oct. 21 on charges of battery of a law enforcement officer at her Bradenton residence.
According to a Bradenton Police Department report, an officer responded around 8 p.m. to a call regarding an altercation between Lancaster and two tenants who said they paid to share the residence.
Bradenton Officer Frank Coleman reported that Lancaster told him that she wanted the two roommates to leave. A witness stated that Lancaster had “been drinking all day.”
After making verbal threats to Coleman and the roommates and pointing her finger at his face, he reported that Lancaster then “charged at me hitting me in the upper portion of my body, knocking me back a step.”
She was arrested and taken to the Manatee County jail.
Lancaster sat in the back of the chambers during the Oct. 23 proceedings, alongside Bradenton Beach Police Chief Sam Speciale, although the chief was apparently unaware of Lancaster’s arrest and release earlier that day from jail. Both Lancaster and the city requested the chief attend the meeting.
Lancaster declined when asked to address the commission.
In the days leading up to the commission meeting, she also chose not to participate in meetings with the mayor to discuss her performance.
City attorney Ricinda Perry described the mayor’s attempt to work with Lancaster earlier in the week, stating the mayor provided written notice to Lancaster on Oct. 20 that he wished to conduct an employee counseling session the next day. Lancaster responded by contacting Perry to indicate she wanted to have an attorney present at that meeting.
Lancaster attended the Oct. 21 meeting without counsel, but, according to Perry, left after Shearon said the purpose “was to provide for better communication and to address some concerns regarding her work performance, specifically her availability during city business hours.”
Lancaster requested that the mayor direct his issues to her attorney and indicated that she would provide contact information by 5 p.m. that day. According to Perry, the 3 p.m. meeting lasted 3 minutes.
Not only did Lancaster fail to provide information, she neglected to report to work the following day, and did not respond to repeated attempts to contact her.
The only communication received by Lancaster before her appearance at the Oct. 23 meeting was a cryptic text message to Perry that morning. The city attorney sighed audibly before reading it aloud to the commission: “I am coming to work. …I am representing myself. I could not call anyone yesterday as I was physically assaulted. That is all I can say. Under investigation. Gia.”
This was not the only drama during Lancaster’s short tenure with the city. At a commission meeting Sept. 4, a visibly distraught Lancaster made a rambling statement during the public comment period and asked for a vote of confidence. She left the meeting abruptly and was observed being consoled in the parking lot. She was later hospitalized and two weeks elapsed without Lancaster reporting to work.
According to information gathered by The Islander prior to her employment with the city, Lancaster also exhibited erratic behavior in prior government positions, when she was known as Virginia Haas.
Clerk pro-tem, take II
After relieving Lancaster of her duties, commissioners unanimously appointed Terri Sanclemente as temporary city clerk.
Sanclemente, who worked for the city as an administrative assistant 2006-12, also helped fill the vacancy created after clerk Jamie Anderson was terminated and pro-tem clerk Tammy Johnson resigned.
Sanclemente currently is seeking certification as a municipal clerk. The commission is investigating the length of time she can serve in an official capacity while she continues to complete certification training.
After some mud-slinging regarding the workload created by some records requests from Tjet Martin, the mayor’s live-in girlfriend, and others, the commission also authorized the hiring of a full-time contract employee for the clerk’s office.
Sanclemente had no comment on the proceedings.