Son, accused of assaulting York Mayor Bracey, is also a city employee

(York) — The man who allegedly attacked the mayor of York was not only her son, but also an employee of the city. 

Brandon Anderson was criminally charged, and later released from prison, on accusations that he punched and kicked Mayor Kim Bracey on Sept. 30 at her campaign headquarters in York. 

Anderson, 30, works as a shift supervisor at the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, plant general manager Frankie Campagne said on Monday. 

He did not know if Anderson was still an employee of the city but said Anderson was not at work on Monday. 

“Our main concern is to continue work as usual and to cover for his absence,” Campagne said. “But the definition of his absence, I don’t know.”

Campagne said Anderson has worked at the plant for 10 years but was unsure if he had served in any other positions. 

A shift supervisor is a management position, and the person typically directs staff under his or her command to plan operations, according to Campagne. 

He referred further questions to City Hall. 

In an email Monday afternoon from city business administrator Michael Doweary, officials there confirmed that “Brandon Anderson is an employee of the city” but declined to provide information on his employment status.

“Based on longstanding City policy, no person employed by the City is permitted to comment on personnel issues,” Doweary said.

Anderson was released from York County Prison on Friday and has been unavailable for comment. 

Mayor Bracey gives thanks

In her weekly mayoral message on Facebook, Bracey said she was grateful for the support she has received. 

“I am fine,” she said in the recorded message. “I want to thank everyone for all your words of encouragement, your concern, your support over the weekend. I received so many phone calls, text messages, email messages…We are doing good, and everything is working out for the good as well.”

According to online court records, Anderson has faced criminal charges in York County. While police reports were not available, online records do outline Anderson’s court process.

In September 2013, Anderson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of simple assault after Northern York County Regional Police charged him in an incident that happened on March 13, 2013, those records show. Bail in that case was set at $25,000 unsecured, meaning he was free to go on conditions that he appeared for court hearings and didn’t commit any crimes.

York County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael Bortner sentenced him to two years of probation and to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation. Police had initially charged him with two counts of felony aggravated assault, but the felony charge was changed to simple assault, records state.

Anderson pleaded guilty in a separate case filed by Pennsylvania State Police in 2016. He was charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana and use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was also cited for driver of an unregistered vehicle. He ended up pleading guilty to the use or possession charge; the small amount charge was nolle prossed (not prosecuted) and so was the vehicle citation, records state.

In that case, the judge, Maria Musti Cook, sentenced him to a maximum of six months probation.

‘Gentle, kind, considerate, polite’

A longtime next-door neighbor of Anderson’s, Richard Syms, said on Monday that he hasn’t seen Anderson around in a few days.

“I can’t say enough good about the guy,” said Syms, 66, a retired truck mechanic. 

Syms and Anderson exchanged friendly “hello’s” and “goodbye’s.” Syms would see Anderson with his son a lot, always taking care of him and, Syms recalls, buckling him tight into his car seat.

Syms’ first words about Anderson were: gentle, kind, considerate, polite.

Some time ago, Syms gave him a spare fuse for his apartment. They would talk sometimes of a messy neighbor.

His interactions with Anderson over the last 10 years or so led him to ask on Monday: “Why couldn’t more people be like he was?”

When he learned of the alleged assault — only a day or two after it first happened — it kept him up that night.

“I never honestly saw anything to indicate that the guy had a violent bone in his body,” Syms said.

He had heard about what Bracey said in her statement, about her son battling an opioid addiction, and wondered how he was supposed to have known that as a neighbor. 

The news, in the end, left him feeling sad for Anderson and his family.

“These things can touch home,” he said, “and travel under the radar.”

He added, to Anderson himself, “I want him to know nothing’s changed between him and me.”

This story is part of a partnership between WITF and York Daily Record.