Mayor’s Anger Over Vaccination Video Focus Of Complaints: Report

SARASOTA, FL — Alarmed by Mayor Hagen Brody’s anger over a video recorded during a March 29 vaccination event at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and shared to the city of Sarasota’s social media sites, several city employees filed written complaints to the Human Resources department, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported.

The video featured Mary Bensel, Van Wezel’s executive director, and the mayor was upset the focus of the video was on her and the performing arts hall, reports said.

Blaming the city’s communications manager, Jan Thornburg, Brody went to City Manager Marlon Brown’s office to complain, demanding to speak with him despite Brown being in a Zoom meeting and unavailable, the Herald-Tribune said.

The mayor “literally barged into the side door, very dramatically, with coffee in hand, YELLING in a very, very bullying manner: WHERE’s Marlon?” Brown’s executive assistant, Kathryn King, wrote in a statement submitted to human resources.

The Herald-Tribune obtained King’s and other complaints about the incident through a public records request.

Brody told Patch the Human Resources reports of the situation were overblown. He also stressed that “why (he) was irritated in the first place” wasn’t about whether he received credit for the event, which he says is a narrative being pushed by his political opponents. Instead, he was angry the event’s volunteers didn’t receive the recognition they deserved.

“It had nothing to do with me getting credit and me being featured in the video,” he said. “I didn’t feel that the volunteers that really gave their blood, sweat and tears to make the event happened were adequately acknowledged for their efforts and that bothered me. I was really trying to put that forward.”

King also wrote she was concerned the mayor’s yelling might escalate and “turn to violence.”

The city’s manager of governmental relations, Stevie Freeman-Montes, said in a statement that Brown came out of his office to tell the mayor he was being “disrespectful and unprofessional.” The two spoke in the city manager’s office for about 20 minutes after that and the mayor could be seen pounding his fist on the desk, reports said.

Ultimately, the video was removed from social media.

Brody said he was also bothered by the Van Wezel’s message in the original video.

“Bensel talked exclusively about bringing people back to the Van Wezel and getting people in the seats at the Van Wezel again, and I thought that was tone deaf,” he told Patch. “That might be her concern, but that was not the shared concern of the people putting the event on. Their concern was to save lives.”

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The mayor also said he and Brown continue to have an “outstanding” working relationship.

“This was a dispute. Per the charter, I only deal with Marlon Brown,” Brody said. “This was a dispute between him and I that, you know, we resolved six weeks ago when this happened, and it’s done.”

He added the dispute occurred “almost exclusively behind closed doors,” noting that it didn’t involve any of the employees who had filed statements to human resources.

In a statement provided to Patch, Brown said, “I’ve addressed the situation with the staff members involved and with all of the commissioners, including Mayor Brody, since the incident occurred, and I consider the matter closed.”

Patch also reached out to Thornburg for comments and has made a records request for the complaints filed against Brody.