A St. Petersburg resident has sued the city over how it handles public records after he saidhis own request for records went unanswered for over a year.
Bradlee McCoy filed a four-page lawsuit Monday in Pinellas County Circuit Court over the city’s “lack of response.” In it, he cited one example: a request he made in August 2024 related to bonuses paid to 17 employees following the brokering of a stadium deal between the city, Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay Rays. The bonuses were later found to have violated state law and employees had to pay them back. Months later, that stadium deal fell apart.
A screenshot included in the suit shows McCoy requested an update on the status of his inquiry Saturday. He saidthat on Monday, the same day he filed the lawsuit, he received a record of the employees’ salaries but didn’t get other records he requested.
McCoy, who is representing himself in the suit, said he has made more than 200 requests over the past two years and has noticed inconsistencies and noncompliance with public records. He said he will continue to file lawsuits until there is a resolution.
“We’re reaching a pivotal point with the next Trop deal. We have so much going on with the city right now,” he said. “The problems haven’t improved, they’ve gotten worse.”
St. Petersburg spokesperson Samantha Bequer said the city does not comment on pending litigation.
McCoy has spoken publicly at City Council meetings about what he perceives as a lack of transparency. In July 2024, McCoy filed an ethics complaint against his council member, Deborah Figgs-Sanders. That complaint was dismissed by the state ethics board two months later.
City Council member Lisset Hanewicz recently took issue with the city’s public records process. She submitted requests for records relating to the city’s handling of the Science Center project and found that it took multiple attempts over a few weeks to receive all records, which included emails and Microsoft Teams messages between city employees.
Last month, Hanewicz asked for a discussion about the city’s procedures for complying with records requests. That discussion is tentatively scheduled for January.
“I want to ensure that whenever the public asks for documents, they receive their records in a timely and accurate fashion,” she said. “I want to make sure what I went through, no one else should have to go through. If there are ways to improve the system, then that should be improved.”