The Lee County NAACP is calling on Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson to resign after two men stood up during public comment at a City Council meeting and accused him of sexual misconduct. Anderson has denied the allegations, insists his exchanges with both men were taken out of context, and says he has no plans to step down from office.
The allegations had surfaced earlier in September on SW Florida Lighthouse, before 23-year-old Kagan Vann and 18-year-old Dominic Hendricks each took the microphone during the Sept. 21 Fort Myers City Council meeting, according to WGCU. Vann told council members he had been with a man who did not want his name disclosed because he was a government official, and that the man made strange remarks and grew defensive after Vann said he did not want to engage in sexual activity. Vann has separately accused Anderson of trying to drug him during that encounter, which he says occurred on Nov. 21, 2024, as reported by Gulf Coast News.
According to the News-Press, Vann said Anderson offered him $200 for a sexual act and became pushy after he refused. Hendricks, the younger of the two accusers, told council members that Anderson made sexual advances toward him during the American 250 event held downtown on July 4 of this year, per the same WGCU account. Hendricks has accused the mayor of making inappropriate sexual comments toward him during that encounter.
Mayor Pushes Back, Calls Allegations False
Anderson addressed the claims directly at the meeting, saying, “I just want to be clear that these allegations are false,” according to WGCU's report. He maintained that his exchanges with both men were taken out of context to create a false narrative, and he has denied the sexual misconduct allegations outright. Anderson has not responded to requests for an interview, Gulf Coast News notes.
City Council members did not announce any formal action or comment publicly on the resignation demands during the meeting itself, according to WINK News. Several other speakers at the meeting joined Vann and Hendricks in calling for Anderson's resignation, as reported by SFL Media, with some attendees also pressing for a formal investigation and accountability, according to an image caption distributed by Reuters Connect.
Body Camera Footage and Board Resignations
Gulf Coast News says it obtained body-camera footage showing Vann speaking with a police officer in downtown Fort Myers about the mayor. Vann described an unnamed man and the man's reaction to the officer, and accused Anderson of trying to drug him. Separately, reporting indicates the Vann matter was referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and no criminal charges have been filed against Anderson.
Even as he rejects calls to resign as mayor, Anderson has already stepped back from several community leadership roles. He has resigned from the board of directors for United Way Lee, Hendry, and Glades, as well as the boards of Valerie's House and the Florida Gulf Coast University Alumni Association, Gulf Coast News reports. WINK News notes that those board departures followed the controversy even as Anderson signaled he intends to remain mayor.
The allegations have thrust Fort Myers' top elected official into a public reckoning that remains unresolved. With no criminal charges filed and Anderson denying wrongdoing, the dispute now centers on competing accounts from the two accusers and the mayor, with the Lee County NAACP's call for his resignation adding political pressure to a situation that City Council has yet to formally address.
