Ydanis Rodriguez speaks with supporters before the Committee on Standards and Ethics released its findings. Photo: Daniel P. Bader
Carlos Suero doesn't believe the picture being painted of his former teacher, City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez.
On Wed., Aug. 5, after eight hours of closed-door deliberations, the Council's Committee on Standards and Ethics voted unanimously to recommend to the full Council that Rodriguez complete an "employee relations program" and be suspended from the chairmanship of the Higher Education Committee until he completes the program.
Council Member Inez Dickens, the chair of the committee, said the body found a “preponderance of evidence” that Rodriguez had inappropriate conduct with the staffer after an argument over budget allocations to the City University on June 25.
“He never acted that way with us [students],” Suero said of Rodriguez, a former high school teacher.
Back when he left Northern Manhattan for college he said Rodriguez told him to treat women with respect.
“Make sure you treat [women] just like you would want others to treat your mom or your sister,” Suero recalled Rodriguez saying.
The hearing started at 9 a.m., but over a dozen of Rodriguez' 60-plus supporters, like Suero, remained to stand with the Council member when the committee's decision was read at around 6:30 p.m. Many still had the white duct tape passed out and worn across their mouths in the morning.
“The Council wants us to be quiet,” explained supporter Iluminado Hilario. “It’s a symbol that we're not happy with what's going on.”
Hilario said she has little faith in elected officials or the government, but was resolute in her support of Rodriguez.
“This is our Obama, our Martin Luther King. ... We are offended by this whole process," she said.
When the committee reconvened about a dozen supporters remained. The committee voted on its resolution and quickly adjourned. Rodriguez refuted the findings and the process of the committee.
“You should know that the ethics committee reached this decision without one single witness, I repeat not one single witness who saw me poke or heard me yell at the complainant - even though there were at least 10 people within a few feet of where the incident took place,” Rodriguez said, reading from a statement.
Fellow Northern Manhattan Council Member Robert Jackson, a member of the committee, gave a terse “no” when asked to comment on the decision.
The committee will release a full report on its findings to Council members on August 13 ahead of introducing its recommendations in the form of a resolution to the full Council.
Rodriguez wouldn't say if he would comply with his punishment if the Council passes it as is, or if he would give up his chairmanship. Leo Glickman, Rodriguez’ attorney, said the Council can amend the resolution to add or remove parts.
A Council spokesperson couldn’t say if the committee's report would be made public, or if the state’s open meeting laws require the Council to release the minutes of the executive session.
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