Sanford City Manager Norton Bonaparte Jr., who led the city through the tragic Trayvon Martin shooting, the revitalization of the downtown district, and disaster recovery efforts from several hurricanes and tropical storms, has announced he will retire in October.
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Bonaparte, who was hired in July 2011, is currently one of the longest-serving city managers in Seminole County.
“Norton Bonaparte has been a true asset to the city of Sanford,” Mayor Art Woodruff said in a statement released by the city. “Because of his leadership, the city is well positioned to continue to move forward as a place where people want to live, work and play.”
Assistant City Manager Craig Radzak will serve in the interim after Bonaparte’s departure on Oct. 14 until Sanford hires a new manager.
Commissioners are scheduled to discuss the city’s next step in the hiring process at their next public meeting on Monday.
Sanford’s city manager oversees a $215.5 million budget and about 540 city employees.
But Bonaparte faced criticism during his tenure.
Christina Hollerbach, who was elected as Sanford’s new mayor on Aug. 18 and is scheduled to be sworn in on Dec. 14, said during her campaign that there needs to be “changes in city leadership.”
“I want to change the culture at City Hall,” Hollerbach said last August.
Before coming to Sanford, Bonaparte, 73, served as city manager for the city of Topeka, Kan., for five years.
Just seven months into Bonaparte’s tenure, Sanford faced one of its biggest crises after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman at the Retreat at Twin Lakes community on Feb. 26, 2012.
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Zimmerman claimed he shot the Black teenager in self defense. He was later acquitted by a jury of second-degree murder and manslaughter.
The shooting led to rallies, marches and protests in downtown Sanford and across the United States. Amid a national outcry over the Police Department’s handling of the tragic incident — including that Zimmerman was not immediately arrested — Bonaparte fired Chief Bill Lee.
“We need to move forward with a police chief that all the citizens of Sanford can support,” Bonaparte said at the time. “I have come to this decision in light of the escalating divisiveness that has taken hold of the city.”
In recent years, Sanford leaders dedicated millions of dollars toward attracting restaurants, breweries and small businesses into its downtown district to create a vibrant core. Today, the area attracts visitors from around Central Florida.
Under Bonaparte, Sanford also extended the popular Riverwalk trail along the Lake Monroe shore.
In the weeks after Hurricane Ian blew through Central Florida in 2022 and Hurricane Irma in 2017, water levels on Lake Monroe continued to rise and flowed into Sanford’s downtown, flooding several streets. City crews used backhoes and other heavy equipment to build dirt roads, including to Marina Isle, so business owners and residents could drive in and out of the area.
Also, the city recently started to invest in modernizing its aging wastewater and stormwater infrastructure.
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