A past chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party is accusing a member of the California State Board of Equalization of sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation related to his brief stint working for the elected official.
Will Rodriguez-Kennedy made the allegations against Board of Equalization member and fellow Democrat Michael Schaefer in a San Diego Superior Court lawsuit filed in May. Schaefer is among the oldest state elected officials in history and was previously elected to the San Diego City Council in 1965.
The lawsuit, which also names as defendants the state tax board and Schaefer’s then-chief of staff Gary Gartner, accuses the two men of overseeing a sexually charged workplace and asking Rodriguez-Kennedy to influence the outcome of county Democratic Party votes. Gartner was Rodriguez-Kennedy’s immediate supervisor.
It also claims he was directed to perform personal tasks for Schaefer, such as picking up his laundry. The lawsuit says Gartner threatened Rodriguez-Kennedy with losing his job if he failed to comply.
“When plaintiff expressed reluctance, Gartner stated: ‘You know, you really should just do what I say, because people talk in the gay community and it would be unfortunate if I decided to bring up something negative about your personal life,’” the lawsuit says.
In a statement, Schaefer said he was unaware of most of the allegations in the lawsuit. “I have no problems with Mr. Gartner or with Mr. Rodriguez-Kennedy,” he said by email.
“The chief must have an assistant of his choice or acceptance who he can work well with to get our job done,” he wrote. “I would not hire independently of my chief’s requests.”
Neither Gartner or the state Board of Equalization responded to requests for comment about the lawsuit or its allegations.
Rodriguez-Kennedy, who now works as a field representative for Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, and also serves as a county civil service commissioner, interviewed in late 2020 for a position with Schaefer, the 4th District representative on the state tax board.
By mid-December, he was offered the job and began working as an assistant to Schaefer, even though he was not placed onto the state payroll until Jan. 5, 2021, the lawsuit says.
In the first weeks of his employment, Rodriguez-Kennedy said Schaefer told him to read “Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and all the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars,” a 2012 tell-all by a man who claimed to arrange gay sex encounters for actors.
According to the lawsuit, the same week, Gartner asked the plaintiff if he was “into S&M,” an explicit reference to the sexual practice of sadomasochism.
“Between Jan. 18, 2021, and Feb. 26, 2021, Gartner repeatedly asked plaintiff about a Delano City Council member whom Gartner described as ‘stunningly handsome,’” the complaint adds. “Gartner pressured plaintiff to provide him with the council member’s contact information.
“When plaintiff declined to provide the council member’s contact information, Gartner said, ‘Oh, I see how it is, you are trying to keep him for yourself,’ implying a sexual relationship and telling plaintiff to ‘loosen up.’”
Michael Schaefer. (Courtesy of State Board of Equalization)
On other occasions, Schaefer and Gartner made racist comments about other board members and staff, the claim said. In defending the subject of one such comment, the chief to Schaefer disparaged Rodriguez-Kennedy’s own African ancestry, it added.
What’s more, after Schaefer posted a racist meme on his Facebook page, the lawsuit says, Rodriguez-Kennedy was directed to lie to a reporter about the post and say the account had been hacked.
“Gartner later suggested that plaintiff should ‘take the fall’ for the racist post because he was ‘the only person of color on staff’ and that would ‘provide cover for the member,’” it added.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants also directed Rodriguez-Kennedy to perform tasks outside his normal duties for Schaefer, including helping him move, picking up his dry cleaning and shuttling Schaefer to a driving appointment.
In April 2021, Rodriguez-Kennedy said his immediate supervisor told him to take advantage of his position as chair of the county Democratic Party to ensure a favorable outcome for a pending motion.
“During this same conversation, Gartner threatened to fire the plaintiff if a political consideration did not go his way at the central committee,” the lawsuit alleges.
Early the following year, Rodriguez-Kennedy complained about the inappropriate behavior to the board’s executive director, and soon after, he started facing more hostile treatment at work, his lawsuit says.
Rodriguez-Kennedy stepped away from his position as San Diego County Democratic Party chair in early May 2022 after the District Attorney’s Office said it was investigating sexual assault allegations made by a former boyfriend, which Rodriguez-Kennedy denied. No charges were ever filed, and a lawsuit by his ex-boyfriend was later dropped.
Rodriguez-Kennedy says he was fired from his Board of Equalization job on May 16, 2022, in what his lawsuit says was retaliation for reporting his workplace conditions.
He sought and received a right-to-sue letter from the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing this past April.
The lawsuit seeks general and special damages, back pay and other relief. Court records show a hearing is scheduled Aug. 29 to consider a motion to dismiss filed by Schaefer.