A Democratic state senator who has met head to toe with the leaders of his own party filed a formal discrimination complaint against Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart on Monday under the New Mexico Human Rights Act.
Albuquerque Senator Jacob Candelaria claims Stewart took revenge on him after criticizing the role she played in keeping a senior legislature in office who was accused of making derogatory remarks about Native Americans and a gay man to have insulted.
“What happened here is that Mimi Stewart used her presidential power to retaliate, and that is illegal under the New Mexico Human Rights Act,” Candelaria, a civil rights attorney, said in a telephone interview after seeing the The Complaint.
“I intend to hold them accountable,” he said.
Stewart, also a Democrat in Albuquerque, didn’t return a message late Monday with a request for comment.
Candelaria alleges Stewart changed his seat assignment on the Senate floor and moved his office in the Roundhouse from the second to the third floor in retaliation for his criticism of “their discriminatory employment and management practices” involving the director of the Legislative Education Study committee.
“These acts were motivated, at least in part, by an unlawful desire to punish Mr. Candelaria for opposing Ms. Stewart’s conduct and otherwise to discourage others from raising similar objections to Ms. Stewart’s behavior in the future,” wrote Candelaria, who said he was an openly gay and Hispanic man as a member of a protected class.
Legislative director Rachel Gudgel has been accused of mocking Native Americans and homophobically berating a gay colleague. Despite requests to remove her, Gudgel remains on the job despite being suspended for two weeks. Last month, the 10 voting members of the committee were stuck 5-5 on whether Gudgel should be fired. Stewart was among the legislators who voted to keep Gudgel busy.
Candelaria also accused Stewart in his discrimination motion of covering up the allegations against Gudgel for years “by ensuring that an employee review ordered a few years ago was never made available to members of the Senate or the public.”
The charge against Stewart lies not in her legislative duty but in her administrative capacity, “where she has no immunity,” Candelaria said.
“The law cannot allow the Senate chairman to so brazenly and with such arrogance disregard our state’s rules and laws relating to non-discrimination and retaliation,” he said.
“On a more fundamental level, a person who is freezing racial discrimination and homophobia under any liability theory in this institution – myself as a civil rights activist who litigates claims under human rights law every day – Senator Stewart, and I intend when I saw her in court.” , he added.
For procedural reasons, the discrimination complaint was submitted to the Department of Workforce Solutions, which acknowledged receipt of the document.
Candelaria said he filed the complaint because of the principle and integrity of the institution of the State Senate.
“As the first openly gay man in the Senate and in the legislature in history, I also feel I have a special responsibility to bring this charge and to say that we will no longer turn a blind eye to this.” [expletive]”, he said. “If you don’t want to say [expletive], I say, ‘Turn a blind eye to outrageous acts of discrimination in the workplace.’ “
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