Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 10-21-22

The Florida Sentinel Editorial Board Endorsements And Recommendations For 2022 General Election:
United States Senator
Board of County Commissioners District 2 Ken Hagan
Board of County Commissioners District 5 Mariella Smith
Board of County Commissioners District 7 Kimberly Overman
Val Demings
Representative in Congress District 14
Kathy Castor
Representative in Congress District 15
Alan Cohn
Representative in Congress District 16
Jan Schneider
Justice Of Supreme Court
Governor and Lt. Governor
Justice Charles Canady YES Justice John Couriel YES Justice Jamie Grosshans YES Justice Jorge Labarga YES Justice Ricky Polston YES
Charlie Crist Karla Hernandez
Attorney General
District Court Of Appeals
Aramis Ayala
Judge Patricia Joan Kelly YES Judge Nelly N. Khouzam YES Judge Suzanne Labrit YES Judge. Matt Lucas YES Judge Robert Morris YES Judge Stevan Northcutt YES Judge John Stargel YES Judge Craig Villanti YES
Chief Financial Officer
Adam Hattersley
Commissioner of Agriculture
Naomi Blemur
State Senator District 14
Janet Cruz
County Court Judge Group 14
State Senator District16
Melissa Black
Darryl Ervin Rouson
State Senator District 23
NO RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COMMUNITY ELECTIONS
No. 1 Constitutional Amendment Limitation on the Assessment of Real Property
Used for Residential Purposes YES
No. 2 Constitutional Amendment Abolishing the Constitution Revision Commission
NO
Mike Harvey
State Representative District 62
Michele Rayner
State Representative District 64
Susan Valdes
State Representative District 65
Jen McDonald
State Representative District 66
David Tillery
State Representative District 67
Fentrice Driskell
No. 3 Constitutional Amendment Additional Homestead Property Tax Exemption For Specified
State Representative District 68
Lorissa Wright
Critical Public Services Workforce
State Representative District 69
YES
Andrew Learned
State Representative District 70
Hillsborough County Referendum Funding for Countywide Transportaion Improvements by Levy of One Percent Sales Surtax
YES
Eleuterio Salazar, Jr.
Board of County Commissioners District 1 Harry Cohen
Again, Judge Dismisses Civil Suit Against City Councilman
Orlando Gudes
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
On Monday (October 10th), Hillsborough County Judge Anne-Leigh Gay- lord Moe dismissed the civil suit filed against City Council- man Orlando Gudes for the second time. The judge ini- tially dismissed the case in July, but reinstated it at the request of the Legislative Aide and her daughter.
The Sentinel reached out to his attorney for comment. Ryan Barack provided the following statement:
"The Court again dis- missed the lawsuit against Councilmember Gudes. At the Plaintiffs’ re- quest, the Court conducted another very lengthy hearing. The Court again reviewed all of the allegations of the Plain- tiffs and for the purposes of the ruling assumed all allega- tions were true. After the re- consideration and even assuming all of the allegations were true, the Court again dis- missed the lawsuit in a lengthy, thoughtful order.
“Councilmember Gudes very much appreci- ates the support he has re- ceived from the community. He has been and intends to continue to focus his time and energy on the important mat- ters facing the City, like the af- fordable housing crisis and preventing senseless gun vio- lence."
Councilman Gudes had been accused by his Legisla- tive Aide of creating a hostile workplace. The Councilman admitted he made some com- ments inappropriate to the young lady and her daughter.
He apologized to the Aide
CITY COUNCILMAN ORLANDO GUDES
in a statement he shared with The Sentinel in April.
“I sincerely ap0logize to my former Legislative Aide for my words that caused her discomfort.
“...I do accept responsibil- ity for comments I made that while not sexual harassment, were not appropriate for the workplace.”
He further stated: “I made the mistake of hiring a friend and not establishing new boundaries for the relation- ship because the dynamic had changed. I take full responsi- bility for not recognizing this change.”
The complaint against him was filed in 2021. The Aide and Gudes agreed on her being placed in another City department, which did occur.
Earlier this year, Gudes stepped down as Chairman of the City Council, but said he would not resign.
In May, Mayor Jane Castor apologized to the woman for Councilman Gudes’ action, however, she could not terminate him. Only the governor could do that. The City paid the Aide $200,000 as a lost wages claim.
Local
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 5-A