TAMPA The results of a seven-month investigation into Orlando Gudes’ treatment of a former aide by the City Council Chair was released Monday. Mayor Jane Castor issued a statement saying she would fire Gudes if she had the power.
The 60-page document included a Trenam law office investigation, which found Gudes’s account of a former legislative assistant, whose identity was redacted from this report to be credible.
Trenam attorneys interviewed 20 people who corroborated an exhaustive account of Gudes treatment of his aide dating back to the summer of 2019, including derogatory comments about her looks and her teenage daughters breast size, homophobic comments about Castor and references to another unnamed City Council member as a p***y mother f**ker.
Trenam concluded that 18 out of 19 allegations seemed more likely than not.
Gudes declined to comment Monday and said he needed to talk about the matter with Ryan Barack before making any statements. Barack declined to comment, stating that he hadn’t seen all the documents.
The file contained a Gudes statement that was part of his formal reply to the allegations.
Gudes denied many allegations in that statement, but also admitted that his conduct was inappropriate.
Although I disagree with all of the findings in this report, regarding my former legislative advisor, I do accept liability for comments that were inappropriate for the workplace. Gudes wrote.
Castor, who is on a trip to Israel this week, issued the following statement.
Orlando Gudes is an elected officer, so I have no authority over his decisions. These credible and corroborated allegations of sexual harassment would make him a city employee. As someone who has worked in law enforcement for many years, I know it takes courage to make harassment and hostile work environments allegations against any supervisor, even one as powerful as a city council chair.
Gudes, 54, is an ex-police officer who worked with Castor in Tampa’s Police Department. He represents East Tampa and Ybor City as well as downtown and parts West Tampa.
The report, which was based on a complaint by the city human resources officer in August, details many instances in which Gudes made crude remarks to the aide. They included asking her if her menopause was over and referring to her by the name Celie, a abused character in Alice Walker’s novel. The Color Purple.
Other incidents are also listed in the report, including one where Gudes refers to Castor, a gay man, with a derogatory phrase and another where he speculates on her sexual habits.
Gudes stated that he didn’t recall making any derogatory comments about Castor and denied making statements about the mayor’s sexual life.
Gudes also claimed that Gudes told the aides teenage girl to sit straight because she has really big boobs. If you continue standing like this, your boobs are going to be down.
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Gudes denied making such comments, but the aide to Gudes and her daughter disagreed.
Gudes has been a critic of Castor occasionally since being elected to City Council.
John Dingfelder was another critic earlier this month. This was in response to a lawsuit brought by a local business consultant claiming that Dingfelder had violated Florida’s Sunshine Law. Dingfelder was not allowed to speak about the matter because of the settlement.
A city news release reiterated the fact that the city doesn’t have the authority or authority to discipline an elected official. However, the aide can file a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or the Florida Commission on Human Relations. This would be investigated by the city and settled.
According to the release, an aide could also file a complaint at the Florida Commission on Ethics.
The Tampa Bay Times In February, we contacted the aide, but she declined to comment. The Times I am withholding her name. Florida law exempts from disclosure any information that could identify the victim of sexual harassment in an allegation.
The city of Tampa continues to employ the former aide.
Gudes said in his statement that he has since apologized to his aide and has hired a coach to help him improve his leadership skills, as well as his workplace sensitivity. He also said that he and the assistant were old friends, and it was his error to not create new workplace boundaries.
