Coral Gables: Manager’s petty reprimand on chief backfires on her

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There’s not enough room in Coral Gables for both City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark and Police Chief Ed Hudak. One of them will have to go, eventually.

Residents overwhelmingly hope that it’s the manager who is given the boot.

This could happen as early as Tuesday, when the city commission discusses the latest chapter in the grudge match between the two top municipal dogs: a questionable reprimand that Swanson unleashed on Hudak even after an independent investigation found the chief did nothing wrong when he stopped by an all female officer pool party last summer to say a few words of encouragement at the party host’s request. Mayor Raul Valdes Fauli, who put the item on the agenda, may have done so simply to ask Swanson to rescind the six-page reprimand that threatens the chief with termination.

But that may not be enough anymore.

Especially since residents — and maybe a couple of electeds, too — are comparing the ridiculously unnecessary and spiteful investigation into Hudak, which cleared him of any violations and was likely started by a bogus and politically motivated anonymous complaint, to an investigation by the Inspector General of Broward into Swanson’s management of Hollywood, where she was found to have intentionally and repeatedly lied to and manipulated that city commission and to have violated several city rules.

Maybe this is why Swanson has such a hard-on for Hudak — because he is law enforcement and can see right through her. Or is it really, as some residents swear, a 15-year-old grudge from when Hudak, then in internal affairs, investigated her BFF and appointee to the planning and zoning board, Maria Menendez, when she was Maria Alberro Jimenez and an assistant city manager in the Gables.

While it is hard to believe that a professional like Cathy would let a personal thorn in her side so long ago fester like that — or, at worst, get in the way of business — there is no other plausible explanation to what is very obvious animosity and open antagonism toward the chief since Swanson-Rivenbark was hired away from Hollywood in November, 2014, to replace Pat Salerno, who resigned after he was caught lying repeatedly and intentionally to the city commission in an effort to manipulate them. It’s noticeable because while residents, business owners and most of the city employees almost worship the guy — really, it’s like boy band fandom — she seeps disdain for him out of her every pore and has been railroading him since Day 1.

First Swanson brought in Frank Fernandez, from Hollywood, as her assistant city manager and director of public safety. He is listed as the head of the police department on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement database. She then dragged her feet to change Hudak from interim or acting chief to permanent status. First she wanted to make him co-chief with another police administrator, one who was in the former chief’s faction. When the city attorney explained that she could not do that, she begrudgingly made him chief — 10 months after she was hired and basically at the gunpoint of popular opinion and the city commission. But he is irrelevant to her, as proven when his opinions were ignored during the planning of the new public safety building. Swanson even overturned Hudak’s recommendation to fire Maj. Theresa Molina after the officer was caught spying on residents and commissioners at City Hall, likely on the orders of and reporting to Fernandez or Swanson herself. How else can you explain them letting Molina keep her job, suspended with pay (to the tune of $90,000 or so) until she maxed her pension? She wasn’t taking those cellphone pictures of Maria Cruz’s text messages for herself?

Read related story: Gables coverup on police ‘spy’ protects city managers

How come there was never an independent investigation into that? Even just phone records could have proved plenty. The same reason, Ladra suspects, that the investigation into this anonymous complaint about Hudak was delayed and then put into the hands of another Fernandez crony (more on that later): Because it could very well lead back to City Hall. Otherwise, why not have an independent investigator — heck, the same investigator, who knows the back story and the people already — do this inquiry too?

Each and every time the city manager goes up against him, Hudak has had a solid tsunami of support show up at City Hall. Expect another one Tuesday. There has already been an outpouring of support for the chief online and a group of residents who started an online petition form to contact commissioners, have been emailing everyone and even plan a press conference before the city commission meeting Tuesday.

Ladra hopes they demand an outside investigation of the anonymous complaint. Because the one who made the city look bad, the person who embarrassed the female officers and continues to put the city in a bad light with this witch hunt wasn’t Hudak but the anonymous complainant that posted a photo from the pool party on Instagram last July and then posted anonymous comments on the LEAffairs online forum.

The photo was posted by user dmannow256, who only has two photos from the day and nada else on their anonymous account with a caption suggesting that there were sex toys distributed (there were not, those were water guns):

“In the same week that Coral Gables was investigating two home invasions, the Chief of Police drove 30 miles outside the City during work hours to spend some ‘quality time’ with his female subordinates at a pool party. As you can see, he is in full uniform at a female only party in which sex toys (female in front of Chief) are being handed out to party goers. As brand new female officers we had no idea he was going to show up. In videos that are to follow, you will hear the disgust and embarrassment from people at the party as we are being visually raped by our boss. At this point we are too afraid to initiate a complaint against him as he is the Chief. I would hope that a City government would not let their chief law enforcement officer victimize the employees they should be protecting. I am sure Roxy Bolton is rolling in her grave as this goes on in the City she spent her life in. #citybeautiful #honortheuniform #pervert #hideyourdaughters #whatwashethinkingwith #newpolicechief?”

Certainly the investigation was warranted. Ladra wouldn’t want a complaint like this to go unanswered. But once the investigator, former Pennsylvania State Police commander Charles Skurkis said nothing bad went down, once each and every one of the female officers says that they did not feel “visually raped” but, rather, pleased the chief had taken the time to stop by, the city manager should have switched gears to investigate the complaint. Immediately. Not four months later. Especially since most if not all of the 14 women at the party demanded an investigation into whoever used them and embarrassed them for their own political vendetta against the chief as early as last August.

But Swanson had a better idea. She decided to hone in on the few recommendations that Skurkis made about moving forward and other things not related to the original complaint to continue her war on Hudak.  “An individual while serving in the capacity of Police Chief must remain cognizant, at all times, that his or her conduct may be closely scrutinized by subordinates, the media, and the citizens they serve, regardless of acting in an official capacity or otherwise,” Skurkis wrote, not realizing that for “community policing” to work in places like Miami or Miami Beach or Coral Gables, things like photos is gonna happen. She also hits him for not reprimanding one of those female officers for taking her patrol car to the party — even though the contract allows officers to take the car from “portal to portal,” meaning that you can sleep over your girlfriend’s or your mom’s or your friend’s house with the patrol car out front, you don’t have to drop it off at home first. Enough said. We don’t need to know the officer’s personal business, even though Ladra was told that Swanson was told of the extenuating and possibly embarrassing family/home/life circumstances — and is still making a big deal of it.

Swanson didn’t bring these reasons up when we spoke Friday. She told Ladra that the reprimand was warranted because Hudak lied to her. He told her that he was there to make a “motivational speech,” and none of the female officers reported a motivational speech. Well, you know Cathy, “motivational speech” are subjective terms. What he calls a motivational speech may be what someone else calls an attaboy, or attagirl in this instance. Some women did notice that he said some words of encouragement. Others weren’t paying attention. Ladra doubts that it was a mandatory “motivational speech” at a pool party he was invited to impromptu.

“Failure to consistently practice more professional and mature judgment moving forward will result in further disciplinary action, including termination,” Swanson-Rivenbark wrote in her reprimand, issued earlier this month.

For a bad motivational speech?? Or allowing a selfie in uniform? Seriously?!?

It sounds like a set up. Ladra is not the only one who thinks so.

“Ed Hudak is clearly being railroaded,” said Raul Mas, who has written a blog and a couple of emails about it. “It is obvious to me that Ms. Swanson is being petty and vindictive and that she will stop at nothing to install her lapdog, Frank Fernandez, as the Chief of Police.”

“She never wanted to appoint him,” said Maria Cruz, the citizen who was spied on. “She was forced to. But his hands are completely tied. Any decision he has made is overturned.

“Just rescinding the letter is not going to do it,” Cruz said. “What guarantee do we have that after she rescinds that letter, she is not going to do something else?”

Freddy Balsera, a political consultant with palanca, wrote Valdes-Fauli and all the commissioners on Monday. “The reality that the public knows full well, but the Commission refuses to admit, is that the investigation into Hudak and the subsequent report was merely a Trojan Horse that the Manager is employing to ultimately remove a Chief that she does not want.

“The erosion of this relationship began the moment the Manager assumed her job and has progressively worsened in a systematic fashion ever since.  And for all of my criticisms of the City Manager there is no doubt that ultimate responsibility lies with the City Commission which has failed to exercise its authority under the City Charter and address this controversy,” he added, accusing Swanson of “fabricating accusations, generating investigations and creating a hostile work environment” and warning of a voter backlash if Hudak is forced to leave the department.

“Stand up for Chief Hudak and hold the City Manager accountable for orchestrating this Roman circus, even if that includes her removal.  Don’t reward her record of violations and mismanagement that include misleading a City Commission; these are actual facts that speak for themselves,” he ended.

In an email response supporting Balsera, forwarded over and over again so it is making the rounds, Jorge Arrizurieta questions why Swanson doesn’t just fire Hudak if she can by charter. “Why create this circus and involve the Mayor and commission with this matter when she has the power by Charter to fire him. Is it because she doesn’t have cause to fire him? Therefore it’s better to smear his name with the hopes he goes away? Or is it because she never liked the fact the commission unanimously voted to re appoint him Chief despite her best efforts following her hiring?

Like Ladra said, there ain’t enough room in Coral Gables for the both of them. And the only one pushing Hudak out is Swanson.

  Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark, Ed Hudak