BB vice mayor pushes mayor’s forfeiture forward

To be continued, again.

More than two months after they first stalled for lack of legal advice and nearly five months since the process began, Vice Mayor Jack Clarke tried again Feb. 13 to move forward with forfeiture of office proceedings against Mayor Bill Shearon.

This time, during a special meeting at city hall, commissioners took the unprecedented step to move forward on Clarke’s alleged claim of mismanagement of office. But, once again, commissioners agreed to delay announcing any specific charges, as well as the steps that will be followed.

Commissioners voted 3-2 to initiate forfeiture. Clarke and Commissioners Ed Straight and Jan Vosburgh voted in favor, while Shearon and Commissioner Janie Robertson were opposed.

The vote came after commissioners agreed to hold off on making public Clarke’s claims against Shearon. This included delaying the discussion on protocol, policies and procedures for the forfeiture process, tasks to be performed, a timeline and costs, including legal fees.

The vote was 4-1. Shearon dissented, saying he wanted to discuss the process.

Later, commissioners voted unanimously to hold one or more workshops. Clarke suggested one could be used to discuss forfeiture protocols, policies and procedures, including hiring an objective investigator. Another could be for discussing the charges against Shearon.

Clarke had numerous complaints about Shearon’s administration in September when he first sought forfeiture of office for the mayor.

This time he made the motion to move discussion on procedures to another date because, he said, a forfeiture procedure discussion was scheduled ahead of the initiation of forfeiture on the meeting agenda, not after.

“We hadn’t voted on whether the forfeiture should be initiated or not, so how could we discuss policies and procedures?” Clarke said, adding that he feels “encouraged. We’ll move to the next step in the process.”

Alan Prather, a former Bradenton Beach city attorney, was recently hired by commissioners to give legal advice at the special meeting.

Robertson said she thought Prather was hired to help set up policies and procedures.

“I don’t know where we are going from here,” she said. “Is this going to happen in two days, or is this going to happen in two months? And what are the costs involved?”

Shearon also had a number of questions about the next steps: Is there going to be an investigation? Who will investigate? How will they find this person? Who will run the next meeting? Will they hire another attorney? How will he be assured due process? Can a facilitator be hired to run parts of the workshop, with Shearon retaining the gavel?

“This is all vague in the resolution,” Shearon said of the forfeiture document prepared last year. “It’s not there. Before you start the proceedings, you better have a way of handling the proceedings.”

Prather told commissioners that if they do use an investigator, it would be unfair to ask a commissioner or a city employee, such as Police Chief Sam Speciale, to play that role. He suggested hiring a third party.

“It will take as long as the commission wants it to take or go as fast as the commission wants it to go,” Prather said, adding an investigation cannot proceed until the charges against Shearon are approved by commissioners.

Prather said the procedures commissioners are looking for are in the resolution commissioners approved last year.

“This resolution and the forfeiture are in your charter,” Prather said. “Please read what the items are that require forfeiture. It’s not what you make up. It’s the ones that are listed in that charter.”

According to the charter, an office is forfeited if an elected official:

• Lacks at any time during the term of office any qualification of office prescribed by charter or law.

• Violates any standard of conduct established by law for public officials.

• Is convicted of a felony while in office.

• Fails to attend three consecutive regular commission meetings without a formal excuse.

• Has become physically or mentally incapable of performing the duties of office, or

• Voluntarily changes their permanent residence to an area outside the ward from where the official was elected. Shearon was elected at large.

Straight said he believed the original purpose of this meeting was to discuss the charges without levying them against Shearon. “But the person who was going to bring up the charges doesn’t want to discuss them,” Straight said of Clarke.

Shearon filed a lawsuit against the city last year in 12th Judicial Circuit Court to prevent commissioners from suspending him during the forfeiture process. But the court has not addressed the case.

Prather told commissioners there are a couple of items in the resolution that may be inappropriate under Florida law. He does not believe the resolution gives a legal justification for the commission to suspend the mayor. Most commonly in Florida, he said, “suspension from office is done by the governor.”

Prather also talked about whether the mayor should be recused from casting future forfeiture votes. The attorney said Florida law requires that an elected official at a meeting is required to cast votes, unless there is a conflict as defined by the state.

While acknowledging the “difficult process” ahead if Shearon participates in forfeiture votes, Prather said he would find it improper “to say that the resolution is the justification that the mayor must be recused.”

Shearon reminded commissioners that the charter states that the mayor shall chair all meetings of the commission.

Bradenton Beach resident John Metz, a retired attorney, said even though commissioners paid Prather $1,375 to give legal advice, “we still don’t know what the threshold of these charges are.” He said commissioners should either find out what the threshold is “and match those, or let’s leave it alone and go home.”

Shearon said the claims presented thus far “really are going to have a tough time meeting the criteria for forfeiture.” Forfeiture is a very serious charge, he said. “I have not committed a felony.”

… as recall effort moves forward

While Bradenton Beach commissioners were discussing forfeiture proceedings against Shearon Feb. 13, a former commissioner was simultaneously seeking his ouster by recall.

Pete Barreda, chair of the Committee to Recall William Shearon, said he is progressing on obtaining signatures on the second round of recall petitions. Each person must sign their own petition.

After the committee collected the required first round of 100 signatures, Shearon wrote a short rebuttal, which is included in the petition voters will see as the committee again collects signatures.

The next step for the committee is to collect 115 signatures among the 763 eligible voters in the city, and file them with the city clerk within 60 calendar days of Feb. 6.

Those who signed the first petition are allowed to sign the second one as well.

The Manatee County Supervisor of Elections would then have 30 days to verify the new petitions. If enough signatures are valid, the clerk would inform the mayor and commission to that effect.

Shearon would then have a five-day period in which he could resign, after which the commission would fill his seat. If he chooses not to resign, the chief judge of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court would set the date for a recall election, to be held within 30-60 days.

Shearon, who has less than nine months remaining in his initial two-year mayoral term, was elected at-large. According to state law, candidates to succeed him must face off against each other for the unexpired term on the ballot with the recall polling.

Shearon said he intends to be a candidate. He also plans to run for re-election in November, whether he is recalled or not.

Among other things, Shearon cites as his accomplishments while in office are the renovation of the Historic Bridge Street Pier, construction of the cell tower and the launch of a new city website.

Barreda discounted the mayor’s claims, saying the cell tower, pier renovations and the website were already in the planning stages before Shearon was elected to the mayor’s post.

Shearon previously served as a city commissioner and on the planning and zoning board.