Lee Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle confirms affair with former employee

Tommy Doyle. Image via Facebook.

Lee County Supervisor of Elections Tommy Doyle confirmed he had an affair with an employee about five years ago. The female employee later filed a sexual harassment complaint against the Republican elections boss.

Revelations about the relationship are making headlines days before Doyle appears on a Republican Primary ballot seeking re-election. The Miami Independent first broke the news based on records connected to an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) the employee filed and later dropped.

Those included a 2018 email from Doyle to the employee discussing the relationship and if his wife were dead.

“I hate to admit it, occasionally I fantasize about (my wife) having a car accident or dying from some natural causes,” Doyle wrote. “These fantasies make the guilt worse. I often wonder if I am the same person I use to be, or even if I know who I am.”

Doyle’s campaign verified the authenticity of the email, and said Doyle’s wife has been aware of the since-ended relationship for a number of years. The two remain in counseling. Doyle said he sent the email in an attempt to end the affair.

He released a full statement addressing the incident.

“I am very embarrassed by a terrible decision I made five years ago, which has hurt my wife deeply,” the statement reads. “This was the worst decision of my life and something I greatly regret. My wife and I are working through this together and through the grace of God we are healing as a family.I also apologize to the wonderful staff within the Supervisor of Elections office and my constituents of Lee County, I acted outside my moral integrity. This was the worst decision of my life. I take full responsibility for my behavior, and I can only ask for your forgiveness. I want to assure voters that this will not affect the Supervisor’s Office’s ability to conduct secure and accurate elections in our upcoming Primary and General Elections.”

Doyle said the EEOC complaint was filed before the employee’s employment ended in February of 2020. She retracted her claims and the complaint was withdrawn. Afterward, Doyle said she resigned reached an employee separation agreement with the office.

Doyle first won election to Supervisor of Elections in 2016, unseating incumbent Sharon Harrington. He won re-election in 2020 unopposed.

Notably, the time frame for the emails means Doyle was already engaged in the affair before he won election to his current term. But news unfolds as he seeks a third term and faces a challenge by Republican Mick Peters. Doyle has spent about $28,000 on his re-election, compared to Peters’ more than $19,000.

Doyle expressed regret about the affair in his emails to the employee, and said they had tried to cut off the relationship multiple times.

“I fear what I’m becoming,” he wrote, “and I fear that I will never again be who I once was. I fear God. I don’t believe our affair is right and it is not best for our future.”

Peters said the revelations shocked him, but that what he knows only raises more questions. He believes the Florida Department of Law Enforcement needs to independently investigate based on revelations Doyle concealed the affair and may have gone out of his way to shroud the settlement.

“According to multiple records and GATE access documents, the relationship apparently spanned nearly two years, transpiring entirely during business working hours,” Peters said. “An EEOC sexual harassment complaint was filed, per what I’ve been able to read, against him, and it was subsequently withdrawn when ‘Tommy Doyle begged me to take the settlement.’ A 20-week severance pay settlement package in 20 specific paychecks, apparently for a ghost employee, raises innumerable concealment and misconduct concerns by the purported perpetrator as the apparent negotiator of this settlement/severance agreement.”

He voiced concern the settlement was structured to avoid raising red flags with the Clerk of Courts, County Commission or any other auditing authority.

“Were taxpayer funds misappropriated? If so, how much was funded by Lee County taxpayers? Is this the only agreement of this nature? Are there more victims that have yet to come forward?” Peters said. “I’m calling for an immediate FDLE investigation into the activities of the Supervisor of Elections for Lee County, and a forensic audit of all financial records since 2016. Additionally, I am calling for the for a preservation order of all records for Lee Supervisor of Elections Office and all email addresses or the supervisor and senior staff.”