Stanley Sims sues city of Tallahassee, claims First Amendment violations

Persistent City Hall critic Stanley Sims has sued the city of Tallahassee, saying officials there – including City Manager Reese Goad – have violated his First Amendment rights.

His lawsuit, filed last month in Leon Circuit Civil court, seeks "monetary damages, declaratory judgment and legal, equitable and injunctive relief."

The complaint lists over 30 specific instances, including an email sent by Goad to city employees in 2020, telling them they should not communicate directly or interact with Sims. It also says Goad once banned him from City Hall before saying he could come in but only for "public meetings."

Indeed, the complaint says he once had a "good relationship" with city employees, especially since his wife worked there, but that the relationship began to sour once Goad was appointed in 2018.

A complaint in a lawsuit tells one side of a story. City spokeswoman Alison Faris declined comment on behalf of City Hall, saying officials there have not yet reviewed the complaint.

Sims is represented by the Marie Mattox law firm; Mattox, like Sims, has long been a thorn in the side of local and state government, filing hundreds, if not thousands, of employment discrimination cases — many of which have resulted in favorable verdicts and settlements.

Sims' lawsuit follows the last city commission meeting of 2023, in which Mayor John Dailey had proposed a "new day of decorum," reining in raucous meetings that became increasingly tense amid internal squabbling and a parade of "unagendaed" speakers haranguing elected officials.

"It's gotten out of hand. I walked away from the last meeting quite disturbed," Dailey said recently, pointing to what he called "personal threats" and "attacks on families."

Stanley Sims has been City Hall critic for many years

Sims, a vocal critic of local government for over 25 years, has often attended Blueprint, city commission and school board meetings to call out members for their tactics and policy choices. He often speaks on multiple agenda items.

He served time in prison in the 1980s for various crimes and was sentenced in 2011 to four years for grand theft, court and corrections records show. But he reinvented himself as a community activist, involved in community efforts including Operation Safe Neighborhood.

Sims also created and runs the nonprofit "Helping Entrepreneurs Leverage Prosperity," otherwise known as HELP.

His in-your-face tactics have earned him more entanglements with law enforcement: In 2016, he was served a trespass warning following a confrontation at the Big Brothers Big Sisters office on East Tennessee Street.

And at a school board meeting in July 2021, Sims was escorted out after berating board members over the school district's masking policy at the time. Sims later got into an altercation with another audience member after a package of masks was thrown at him.

At the Oct. 11 city commission meeting, Commissioner Jeremy Matlow called out some of the city's top executives for texting one another with "ridiculing" comments about members of the public and local media during the Sept. 21 Blueprint meeting.

Sims was one of those discussed in the text message, with officials making fun of how he had said the word "distilleries," in reference to money awarded to the developer of the SoMo Walls project, which includes a distillery.

Sims says lawsuit goes beyond his differences with Tallahassee City Hall

In a phone interview, Sims said his case is about much more than himself.

"Some would ask why would someone put themselves through this? It's evident our democracy is at risk and I'm not the only casualty," Sims told the Tallahassee Democrat.

He pointed out former City Attorney Cassandra Jackson, who resigned from her position citing "personal reasons."

The announcement of her resignation came days after Commissioner Jeremy Matlow called out Deputy City Manager Wayne Tedder on social media, releasing text messages Tedder sent to another attorney, belittling Jackson's legal expertise.

"It is not warranted the way (City Hall) treats our citizens," Sims said.

Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Longtime critic Stanley Sims files free speech suit against Tallahassee