Report details encounter at local eatery
Filing follows sign dispute and public political criticism
Anonymous mailers and websites later targeted Madden administration
MANDEVILLE — Mayor Clay Madden filed a report with the Mandeville Police Department this month documenting a series of interactions with local businessman Robert “Trey” Berning III that Madden said had “escalated to the point of concern.”
The report recounts a dispute with the city over a sign at Berning’s business, political messages subsequently displayed on the building and an August 2025 restaurant encounter in which Madden told police Berning approached the table where he was meeting with a councilman, sat down uninvited and confronted the mayor over his unsuccessful effort to obtain approval for the sign.
Mandeville Daily learned of Madden’s complaint and subsequently obtained the police report through a public records request. The newspaper then contacted both Madden and Berning for comment.
Berning acknowledged receiving Mandeville Daily’s questions but did not provide responses before publication.
Madden told Mandeville Daily he filed the report after numerous residents and a campaign adviser urged him to create an official record of the events as a precaution should the situation escalate. The police report does not accuse Berning of a crime. The reporting officer specifically noted that Madden was seeking documentation and that the matter was not being reported as a criminal matter for MPD investigation.
An encounter at Salad Station
According to the police report, Madden was meeting Councilman-at-Large Scott Discon at Salad Station on Aug. 28, 2025, when Berning approached their table and sat down.
Madden told police Berning discussed his difficulties obtaining approval for a sign at his business and blamed the mayor for the denial.
According to Madden’s account in the report, Berning told him that “if I don’t get my sign, I will keep you from being re-elected.”
Madden told Mandeville Daily that he prides himself on being accessible to the public, but said that accessibility “should never be mistaken for vulnerability.”
“This political consultant approached my table uninvited and essentially threatened me with political consequences unless I broke the rules for him,” Madden said. “I will not be pressured, intimidated, or coerced into compromising my responsibilities. And consider this: What if I had simply been sitting there having dinner with my family?”
What if I had simply been sitting there having dinner with my family?
— Mayor Clay Madden
Sign dispute begins with building renovation
The dispute traced back to Berning’s renovation of his commercial building at 633 N. Lotus Drive. City records show Berning received a permit in October 2024 to renovate the building’s front roof and facade, constructing a large raised structure across the front. Five days after the renovation permit was issued, Berning applied to install signage on the new structure.
Planning Director Cara Bartholomew denied the sign permit the same day, concluding that the proposed sign was a roof sign, a type of sign prohibited under the city’s land-use code. Berning disagreed, arguing that the renovation had created a new roof plane and that the proposed sign therefore qualified as a permissible wall sign.
Berning exercised his right to appeal Bartholomew’s administrative decision to the Mandeville Zoning Commission on Jan. 14, 2025. During the hearing, Berning and an architect supporting his appeal argued that the city was misinterpreting its sign code and pointed to signs on other commercial buildings they believed supported their interpretation. Commissioners were unpersuaded. One described the newly constructed facade as appearing “literally like somebody kinda put a billboard up there,” while another said it looked like “an extension of a permanent billboard sign.”
The commission voted 4-0 to deny Berning’s appeal, leaving Bartholomew’s decision in place. City officials told Berning that the decision was not appealable to the City Council and that his next avenue of appeal was directly to court.
Berning later challenged the decision in 22nd Judicial District Court, but his appeal was unsuccessful. The court dismissed Berning’s challenge with prejudice in May 2025, leaving the city’s decision in place.
The large facade Berning constructed for the proposed signage remains blank today.
Sign dispute turns publicly political
Public criticism of Madden followed the sign dispute. During the 2025 Mardi Gras season, the words “FIRE CLAY MADDEN” were projected across the same large, blank facade where Berning had sought permission to install his business signage. The display is also documented in Madden’s police report as having occurred along the Eve Parade route.
Berning subsequently shared criticism of the city’s handling of his sign appeal through social media, including professionally produced content published by his digital media company. Among the material was a video using selected portions of the Zoning Commission hearing that criticized commissioners by name and accused Bartholomew of being “vindictive and retaliatory.”
Madden says he could not override sign decision
Although Madden said Berning directed his frustration over the sign dispute toward him, the mayor had no authority to overturn Bartholomew’s decision, grant Berning’s appeal or otherwise approve the sign himself.
State law specifically authorizes municipal zoning regulation and provides for decisions by zoning commissions and other designated land-use authorities, subject ultimately to judicial review.
Mandeville’s own Comprehensive Land Use Regulations similarly place those responsibilities with the city’s Planning and Zoning commissions and planning staff. Commission members are appointed by the City Council — not the mayor — and the Zoning Commission exercises the powers assigned to it under Louisiana law.
Anonymous campaign follows
Months after the Salad Station encounter, an anonymous campaign targeting Madden and his administration began appearing around Mandeville. At least three mailers have been distributed to residents, while two websites — MandevilleWatergate.com and FireClayMadden.com — have criticized Madden over city spending, utility rates and other issues. The materials do not publicly identify their author or sponsor.
Madden said supporters began examining the websites and presented him with historical domain and IP-address records that he says contributed to his belief that Berning was behind the campaign.
The police report does not accuse Berning of producing the mailers or operating the websites. Madden’s identification of Berning as the person behind the campaign remains an allegation.
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