First-term incumbent Bradenton City Councilman Bill Sanders is seeking reelection. Sanders will compete in a three-way race for the Ward 4 seat on this November’s ballot.

Sanders says he started coming to Bradenton in 2011 for extended visits with his sister, who had relocated to the Friendly City. There was enough quality of life to make his decision to retire here an easy one, but Sanders said he saw many ways in which the city could do things better and wanted to use his retirement years to work toward the sort of changes that would see Bradenton’s growth go in a positive direction.

Sanders has been a tireless voice for the city’s lack of workforce housing inventory and has routinely questioned whether taxpayers were getting the best value on city investments. He has also been skeptical of giveaways like tax abatements and the use of city assets, such as spaces in the new downtown parking garage, to incentivize downtown development.

Sanders has routinely complained of difficulty accessing public information from city officials, and, as a result, has developed rather contentious relationships with Mayor Gene Brown, City Administrator Rob Perry, Perry’s predecessor Carl Callahan, some of his fellow council members, and some members of the city’s administration.

Earlier this summer, a report from a law firm contracted by Perry was said to have determined that Sanders had shown a pattern of "abusive and threatening behavior" toward city staff. The investigation, however, was vague and informal and seemed more closely related to the feud between Perry and Sanders than legitimate, verifiable complaints from staff. Sanders has claimed it was retaliation for his going against the "good old boy" network's way of doing things.

The councilman also received negative attention when he got into a physical confrontation with a volunteer at the Desoto Seafood Festival in 2019, which led to Sanders being asked to leave the event.

While Sanders' style and tact may leave something to be desired, he has nevertheless been the only council member in recent history willing to publicly question the close relationship the city and many of its officials have with NDC Construction–which receives the vast majority of lucrative construction contracts from the city.

Sanders was critical of hastily announced plans to sell City Hall, which looked, during a CIP presentation earlier this year, to be destined to go to NDC both for redevelopment as well as plans for a new facility, without a competitive bidding process. City Hall has since been opened to bids, with Councilman Sanders continuing to question the manner in which it is being handled at city council meetings.

Sanders faces two opponents in November’s election, Kurt Landefeld and Lisa Gonzalez Moore. With $40,700 raised as of the last campaign finance report (more than half of which was self-financed by the candidate), Sanders has raised more than either of his opponents.

The councilman enjoys a relatively strong base of support from constituents who have long been frustrated with "business as usual" in Bradenton, but it remains to be seen whether that will be enough to overcome the negative press in this three-way race.

Bradenton City Council races are non-partisan and conducted city-wide on the November ballot in a winner-take-all format.

Podcast: Councilman Bill Sanders