Talk show celebrity and comedian Chelsea Handler sat with Bradenton Beach Mayor Bill Shearon March 15 for a closed interview at city hall.
Shearon said he agreed not to talk about the details of the interview, but hinted that it was about his 2015 election victory over former Mayor Jack Clarke.
“It was a little bit overwhelming,” said Shearon. “We talked for about half an hour, and we talked a lot about the card draw and a few other things I can’t talk about.”
Shearon’s election victory in November was decided by a draw from a standard 52-card deck of cards. He and Clarke were tied at 195 votes each at the polls for the mayor’s seat.
Clarke drew a 10 of clubs, Shearon followed and drew an ace of clubs.
Handler’s production team took over the Katie Pierola Commission Chambers for most of the afternoon. And no one was allowed in during set up and recording.
“This was a real unique opportunity,” Shearon said. “I was expecting something like Bay News 9 or Channel 7.”
Handler announced her show on Twitter March 16 with a picture of a hand-written note. The Tweet indicates Handler’s show will premiere new episodes three days a week, beginning May 11.
A title for the program wasn’t disclosed. — Tal Reeve