6 November 28 - December 4, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT Former aide accuses Broward state legislator of sexual harassment. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN I n a lawsuit filed against the Florida House of Representatives, a woman says Florida Democratic state Rep. Daryl Campbell sexually harassed her while she worked as his district aide. The complaint, filed on September 26 in Broward County court, alleges Campbell made the plaintiff uncomfortable by “treating her like a jealous boyfriend” and wanting to share a room with her on work trips. The suit has since been moved to Leon County court, according to a November 18 filing. Campbell, whose Broward County district encompasses parts of Fort Lauderdale, Wil- ton Manors, Plantation, and Lauderhill, is not named as a defendant in the suit. The woman, who requested that New Times identify her in this story only by her last name, Guice, alleges sex harassment, dis- crimination, and retaliation after she was fired from her post “for her complaints and objections to sexual harassment and discrim- ination.” According to the lawsuit, Ms. Guice began work as Campbell’s district aide in Broward on February 1, 2022, soon after he was first elected. The pair had met while she sup- ported his campaign. A Trip to Tallahassee, a Trip to Las Vegas Two weeks into the job, Guice began to feel uncomfortable when Campbell suggested that they share an Airbnb during a visit to Tallahassee. She agreed because she had no other options and didn’t want to ruffle any feathers, the complaint states. During the stay, she says Campbell repeat- edly tried to buy her alcoholic beverages and requested that she cook for him when they didn’t go out to dinner. “And since Plaintiff had no stipend or funds of her own to use, she was forced to travel, eat, and at all times be with Mr. Camp- bell,” states the complaint. “Plaintiff was very uncomfortable with Mr. Campbell during this week, as she [had] just met him and did not believe this was appropriate for a supervi- sor and an aide.” In October 2022, the National Black Cau- cus Legislative Staff Leadership Council nominated Guice for its list of the “Top 22 of 2022 Exceptional Legislative Staff for Sincere Professionalism and Dedication to Service” and invited her to Las Vegas to be honored at a conference there in early December. According to the complaint, Campbell had his legislative office cover the cost of the trip, then surprised her by saying he planned to at- tend as well and proposing they share a room. “[O]n November 15, 2022, at 10:30 p.m., Mr. Campbell texted Plaintiff: ‘I’ve been looking at hotel in Vegas, but these prices for the time we are going are crazy. What I can do is get a room with two beds. Let me know if you are ok with that before I proceed in getting this flight.” Guice agreed with the stipulation that it be an overnight trip, only to learn that the trip was booked for three nights. Leading up to the event, she alleges, Campbell “was telling her how they needed to be together at meet- ings and said, ‘It’s like you’re like my wife.’” According to the complaint, Camp- bell eventually agreed to book their stay at an Airbnb with separate bed- rooms. Campbell got to Las Vegas before Guice did and in- structed her to come directly from the airport to meet him at a gathering. When she arrived, the lawsuit says, her boss was visibly intoxicated. She spent her time talking with others, including a man with whom she shared a kiss. She says Camp- bell witnessed the kiss and immediately called an Uber for them to leave. The next morning, Guice alleges, Camp- bell told she was “no longer permitted to drink on business trips,” citing the kiss. “Plaintiff was very surprised considering it was Mr. Campbell who told her to come to the mixer and kept Plaintiff out until 4 a.m., knowing she did not have funds for transportation back to the Airbnb,” the complaint states. When Guice told Florida state Rep. Marie Woodson she was uncomfortable around Campbell, the complaint states, Woodson said his conduct was inappropriate and that Guice’s boss was treating her like a “jealous boyfriend.” According to the lawsuit, Campbell re- lented, saying that “he would allow her to drink, admitting he should not limit her drinking as if she was a man, he would not be doing to her.” Guice claims that when she later confided in fellow aides and another state representa- tive, she was advised to hire an attorney but did not do so because she feared retaliation. Second Trip to Tallahassee — and a Termination Soon after returning from Las Vegas, accord- ing to the lawsuit, Campbell had her accom- pany him on another trip to Tallahassee, again saying they’d share a hotel room. When she demurred, “Mr. Campbell then stated that Plaintiff would still need to drive him anywhere he wanted to go, still pressuring her to stay at his hotel. Plaintiff had not previ- ously been assigned this task, nor was the prior legislative aide required to chauffeur Mr. Campbell around (let alone share a room or be prohibited from drinking an alcoholic beverage.)” When Guice made arrangements to stay with a fellow legislative aide, her decision didn’t sit well with Campbell, according to the lawsuit. “Again, Plaintiff informed Mr. Campbell how uncomfortable he [had] made her and that she...felt the request to share a hotel room with a male supervisor was completely inap- propriate,” the complaint states, also noting that she told her boss that when she’d shared her misgiving with her fellow Broward aide, that person had relayed the issue to their boss, Rep. Patricia H. Williams of Broward, and to a Broward County government staffer. “Mr. Campbell asked me why Plaintiff was telling people this, and making it look like he was trying to have sex with her or something, and that he was not as he did not find her physically attractive,” the complaint reads. “Mr. Campbell said he thought they had more trust to sleep in the same room, to which Plaintiff assured him she would never go down that path with her supervisor or boss.” According to the suit, when Guice told West Palm Beach Rep. Jervonte Edmonds about the situation, the legislator observed that “those kinds of things happen all the time in this space.” Soon after telling Edmonds, she alleges in the complaint, Campbell called her and “warned her to not speak about ‘office busi- ness’ outside the office and inquired a list of who she told. “Plaintiff said she did not wish to disclose that,” the complaint continues. “Mr. Campbell said that if he learned that Plaintiff released ‘confidential information’ again, she would be terminated. Plaintiff was completely intimi- dated and threatened into silence, and was terrified about reporting this to the House ad- ministration for fear would be terminated.” Guice claims she was fired in November 2023 after Campbell accused her of “releas- ing confidential information” regarding a pending bill. The suit alleges that the legisla- tor gave her the choice of signing a pre- drafted resignation letter he’d written or she would be fired. Chad Levy, the attorney representing Guice, tells New Times in a statement that it has been a challenging time for his client. “We commend her for coming forward so that what she experienced does not happen to other young women in the Florida Legisla- ture, or for that matter, any employee in pub- lic service,” he added. A 38-year-old mental health specialist, Campbell was elected to replace Rep. Bobby DuBose, who’d stepped down from the Dis- trict 99 post to run for Congress. In August of this year, the incumbent won a second term, outpolling Joshauwa Brown in the Demo- cratic primary, 74.3 percent to 25.7 percent. No Republican stepped up to challenge for the seat in the heavily Democratic district. Editor’s note: Shortly after this story was published on our website, attorney Joshua Rydell forwarded New Times the following statement from Representative Campbell: “I categorically deny the false claims made by a former employee. These accusations are not true, and they do not align with my per- sonal values or professional conduct. “The decision to terminate this individual’s employment with my office was made based on legitimate and documented reasons that were unrelated to these allegations. I take workplace conduct and the well-being of my team seriously and have always worked to foster a professional and respectful environment.” [email protected] A former aide to Rep. Daryl Campbell alleges he sexually harassed her during the course of her employment. Photo via Facebook/Representative Daryl Campbell | METRO | “AND SINCE PLAINTIFF HAD NO STIPEND OR FUNDS OF HER OWN TO USE, SHE WAS FORCED TO TRAVEL, EAT, AND AT ALL TIMES BE WITH MR. CAMPBELL.”
