Janelle Irwin Taylor
The former city of Tampa employee who allegedly sent a letter to Tampa mayoral candidates David Straz, Harry Cohen and Mike Suarez alleging deep dysfunction, racism and favoritism within the solid waste department quit his job more than three years ago, according to his personnel file.
The employee file raises more questions than it answers.
The six page letter outlines a series of allegations including employees being called the N-word, unfair hiring practices and even sexual harassment. A cover sheet names James C. Clark as the complainant.
Clark worked as a residential supervisor in the solid waste department from June 2014 through November 2015.
The three year lapse between when Clark left his job and when he allegedly sent complaints to the two mayoral candidates, two of which are sitting City Council members, raises questions about why he waited so long to bring the complaints to the city’s attention.
Another detail – the phone number provided on the cover sheet – also raises questions.
The phone number on the letter Cohen and Suarez received last week is the same listed in Clark’s personnel file, but it’s disconnected. It’s unclear why Clark would have provided a non-working phone number in correspondence sent just last week. Straz said he received only the letter and not the cover sheet containing the complainant’s name and contact information.
Further curious, Clark’s personnel file paints a picture of a model employee who left the city on good terms. The employment termination notice shows that he resigned with notice.
Previous supervisor reviews also show Clark had been performing exemplary work and striving to exceed city standards.
On more than a dozen metrics, Clark received top marks for performance including his organizational, communication and leadership skills.
One personnel note indicates that Clark was “proactive in leading his newly assigned team” and that he demonstrated “a keen ability to address matters before they escalate.”
“He has utilized City Code to go above and beyond in educating citizens and drivers on proper protocol. He has invested time in learning more about the city’s hiring process to expedite new team member acquisition,” the review continues.
Florida Politics made multiple attempts to reach Clark. The personal phone number listed in his employee file, the same that was provided on the letter sent last week, is no longer a working number.
Neither was a second number included in his employee file. A third number for his wife rang to a generic voicemail. A message there went unanswered Tuesday.
Clark’s personnel file also included his email address. A message to that also went unanswered.
Suarez said he was looking into the letter’s authenticity and investigating the allegations within it.
It doesn’t appear that any other candidate for mayor has received the same letter. Dick Greco Jr. and Ed Turanchik confirmed they had not received it. A spokesperson for Jane Castor and Topher Morrison said they didn’t recall receiving such a letter, but were double checking Tuesday afternoon.
The letter also appears to have not landed in the hands of any other City Council members. Aides for Charlie Miranda, Frank Reddick and Yvonne Yolie Capin all said no such correspondence had arrived. Inquiries with Guido Maniscalco and Luis Viera’s offices are pending.
The letter fell into public discourse surrounding the upcoming mayoral election after Straz mentioned it during a campaign forum, claiming he had a letter in his possession outlining “graft and corruption.”
Straz initially would not disclose details of the letter, saying it was sent to him anonymously and that rather than hand it over to public officials or law enforcement for review he would, if elected, investigate allegations as part of a citywide audit he would conduct.
Graft is used to describe situations involving people using their official positions for personal gain. None of the allegations in the letter rise to that level, though the allegations are troubling, if true.
Defending the claim that the letter constituted corruption, the Straz campaign claimed that any misuse of taxpayer funds, which the letter also alleged, constituted corruption and should be dealt with.
Now in possession of the letter, a city spokesperson said the allegations would be investigated in the same way any others would be.
