Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 4-1-22

Feature
Amid Accusations:
City Council Chairman: ‘I Will Not Resign’
ORLANDO GUDES City Council Chairman
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Monday afternoon, the City of Tampa released informa- tion entitled, “Background and Statement: Council Chairman Orlando Gudes Investigation.” The report alleged that Chair- man Gudes made sexual com- ments and gestures to his Legislative Aide. The individual is not being named by the Sen- tinel because of the sexual alle- gations of the complaint. It further stated that the employee was harassed and that Chair- man Gudes created a hostile work environment.
Both the employee and Chairman Gudes requested she be moved to another position and from under his supervision.
When contacted by the Sen- tinel, Chairman Gudes ad- mitted that he had made some inappropriate comments. How- ever, he did not take ownership of all of the accusations. He fur- ther stated that he was disap- pointed in the manner in which his former aide handled the situ- ation.
He stated that he has known the former employee for several years and that she worked on his campaign when he sought the City Council District 5 seat. “I thought we were like brother and sister. Several of us are close friends and my friends asked me to take care of her. I never thought she would break my heart.”
Legislative Aides to elected officials are referred to as “at will” employees, which means that Chairman Gudes could have terminated her. Instead, he requested that she be re-assigned to another position in the city.
“I never fired her, I asked that she be moved. I was still looking out for her as a friend.”
Chairman Gudes said he made the request for her to be re- assigned after she was given an assignment that was not com- pleted. “She was supposed to do this assignment while we were working with the Buffalo Sol- diers and she didn’t do it. This caused great embarrassment to my office and I had to make the decision to take some type of ac- tion,” he said.
As the news of the complaint circulated throughout the com- munity, City Councilmem- bers Luis Viera and Joseph Citro issued statements that
Chairman Gudes resign. In re- sponse to those comments, Chairman Gudes told the Sentinel, “I will not resign.”
Mayor Jane Castor said, “Since Orlando Gudes is an elected official, I have no author- ity over him. However, if he were a city employee, he would be fired over these credible and cor- roborated sexual harassment revelations. I know from many years in law enforcement that it takes a great deal of courage for a victim to make harassment and hostile work environment allega- tions against any supervisor, let alone one as powerful as a city council chairman.”
Chairman Gudes cannot be removed from office by the City of Tampa. He can only be suspended or removed by Gov- ernor Ron DeSantis.
The Complaint
According to the press re- lease from the City of Tampa, the following points were high- lighted:
“Tampa’s HR department in August, 2021 received a com- plaint from a city employee about pervasive abuse and sexual harassment by their supervisor, City Council Chairman Or- lando Gudes. The alleged sex- ual harassment did not include sexual advances, but rather fre- quent offensive conduct and abuse.”
The City of Tampa is obli- gated to investigate when receiv- ing a complaint about discrimination and sexual ha- rassment, although this was an unusual situation in that it in- volved an elected official who does not report to the mayor, the city attorney, or any other official of the city of Tampa.
Because this complaint in- volved an elected official, which is unprecedented, the City on Sept. 14 hired an outside law firm, Trenam Law, to investigate the 19 specific allegations.
Those included: Chairman Gudes making crude sexual statements; Gudes making sex- ual gestures; Chairman Gudes making derogatory comments about multiple women; and Chairman Gudes calling the employee “Celie,” the name of a character constantly abused in The Color Purple.
Trenam interviewed 20 wit- nesses, including Chairman Gudes. It concluded that the employee appeared to be credi- ble and found several of the alle- gations corroborated by witnesses, including an intern who worked in the office. Tre- nam concluded that 18 of the 19 allegations appeared more likely than not to have occurred.
The HR Department’s long- time outside counsel, Thomas Gonzalez, provided a confiden- tial draft of the findings to Chairman Gudes and his at-
torney, who submitted a re- sponse on Feb. 23. His attorney denied Chairman Gudes en- gaged in unlawful behavior, de- nied all the specific allegations and said Chairman Gudes apologized for any words that caused the employee discomfort. He said the chairman and the employee had been longtime friends before he hired them and that in hindsight, some of his comments were inappropriate.
Attorney Gonzalez re- viewed the Trenam report and response by Chairman Gudes’ attorney and drafted a memo- randum of law based on the facts. “It is my conclusion that the claimant has provided evi- dence demonstrating that she suffered harassment based on her sex,” Gonzalez wrote.
“The City has no authority to discipline or take action against an elected official, but the em- ployee who complained has sev- eral options: File a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportu- nity Commission or Florida Commission on Human Rela- tions. In that case, the City of Tampa must respond to the com- plaint or settle it; or File a com- plaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics.”
It should be noted that Tre- nam Law is considered one of the top, high-end law firms working in this area.
Councilman Gudes said he did refer to her as “Celie,” however, when she voiced objec- tions to his making that com- ment, he stopped. “But in our circle of friends, they call me, “Mister,” which is another character from the movie, “The Color Purple.”
Letter To Complainant About Findings
In the 60-page report, it out- lines the complaint in the follow- ing manner: “The purpose of this memorandum is to provide you with a summary of the Investiga- tion that began on August 12, 2021, the process that was fol- lowed during the course of this investigation and the options available to you based upon the conclusion reached by Thomas Gonzalez, outside counsel to Human Resources, as docu- mented in the attached memo- randum, dated March 24, 2022. It is important to remind you that all relevant documents will become public record at the con- clusion of this matter, however, information that identifies you personally will be redacted in re- sponse to requests for public record received by the City, If any.
“... Since the allegations brought forward by you involved your supervisor, an elected offi- cial who is not subject to the City's personnel policies, the City retained an independent law
firm to conduct a factual investi- gation.
“By way of background, on or around October 14, 2020, Human Resources became aware of a workplace interaction that occurred between you and your supervisor to which you began reporting on May 1, 2019. You were interviewed twice by Human Resources and during these interviews, you relayed broad statements about your su- pervisor's conduct at work that you felt were unprofessional. Upon further discussions, you recalled an incident that caused you great discomfort regarding an interaction which occurred at your home.
“You informed us you were receiving outside assistance to "find your voice" and to speak di- rectly to your supervisor about his conduct. Human Resources concurred with this approach with the caveat that should you not be comfortable doing so, Human Resources would speak with your supervisor on your be- half. You reported that you spoke to your supervisor on November 12, 2020 and believed the matter to be closed.
“On August 9, 2021, Human Resources became aware that you were out of the office, and the absence was going to be for an extended period and a well- being call was conducted. Human Resources contacted you again on August 12, 2021. During this call you relayed specific ex- amples of inappropriate com- ments made by your supervisor to include sexual jokes and ges- tures and you indicated that you wished to file a formal com- plaint. You stated that you felt belittled and stressed in your working environment and re- quested to be placed in a new po- sition. Recognizing the possibility of a hostile work envi- ronment, Human Resources arranged a temporary assign- ment for you supporting the Parks and Recreation Depart- ment in an administrative capac- ity. Additionally, recognizing that the City of Tampa's person- nel policies do not apply to an elected official, the complaint was provided to the Legal De- partment for review and guid- ance. At that time, given the subject of the complaint was a City council member and the City Attorney represents the City Council as a body, in order to avoid any appearance of bias and to ensure an independent inves- tigation, it was appropriate and advisable to obtain outside coun- sel to conduct an independent investigation.
“On August 13, 2021, Human Resources received a phone call and a follow up letter from your supervisor asking that you be re- located to a different position, citing it may be in your best in- terest to be placed in a less
stressful environment based on his new role as Chairman of City Council. While your most recent performance evaluation was rated outstanding and did not re- flect any of the issues cited in his request, his request was honored as you had previously asked to be moved. Human Resources was supportive of the transfer, notwithstanding the fact that you are an appointed unclassified ‘at will’ employee subject to dis- charge at any time. You re- mained assigned to Parks and Recreation until such time you applied and were awarded a po- sition in Neighborhood & Com- munity Affairs on November 14, 2021. After the City Attorney's office engaged independent out- side counsel to conduct the in- vestigation, Trenam Law began its investigation on September 14, 2021. Trenam Law's final re- port (copy attached) was issued on January 27, 2022, and in- cluded interviewing twenty peo- ple, covering many allegations.
“This report was then sub- mitted to Human Resources out- side counsel for review and findings. Prior to issuing his memorandum, Mr. Gonzalez allowed your supervisor, through legal counsel, to submit a final written response. ...”
Chairman Gudes issued the following written statement about the complaint: “While I disagree with the entirety of the findings in the report regarding my former Legislative Aide, I do accept responsibility for com- ments I made that while not sex- ual harassment, were not appropriate for the workplace.
“I made the mistake of hiring a friend and not establishing new boundaries for the relationship because the dynamic had changed. I take full responsibility for not recognizing this change. I considered her a longtime fam- ily friend and I regularly social- ized with her, her boyfriend, and several other individuals, both before and during her employ- ment. In addition, she and I worked closely as she was my Legislative Aide since my elec- tion. These circumstances led me to make jokes and comments that were not appropriate for the workplace, but would not be un- common among old friends, which is what I considered us to be at the time. I sincerely ap0lo- gize to my former Legislative Aide for my words that caused her discomfort.
“Many of the accusations are false and there are certain re- marks that I have been accused of making that I have denied and must continue to categorically deny. However, I admit that some of the statements are true, though unfortunately taken out of context.”
Chairman Gudes is being represented by Attorney Ryan Barack.
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2022 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 3-A