Tampa council member’s challenger has a connection to aide’s harassment case

Gwendolyn Henderson, who’s challenging Tampa City Council member Orlando Gudes, has a family tie to a controversy involving Gudes during his first term, but said that’s not why she’s running against him.

Henderson is the sister of a former aide to Gudes, who accused him of sexual harassment. In May, the city reached a $200,000 settlement with the aide.

But in an interview, Henderson, a Tampa Heights native, said she’s been interested in running for years, “and this time I decided not to talk myself out of it.”

In fact, she initially filed Nov. 2 for the citywide District 3 race against incumbent Lynn Hurtak.

She didn’t switch into the race against Gudes, in her District 5 home representing central and eastern Tampa, until Jan. 18, shortly before qualifying ended. That came after former state Sen. Janet Cruz entered the District 3 race and the only opponents to Gudes on the ballot dropped out.

Henderson said as a first-time candidate, she would have little chance against Cruz and Hurtak in a citywide race and would have a better chance against Gudes.

Henderson is a Tampa native and 31-year resident of Tampa Heights and who prides herself on being part of the Jefferson High School community. She has worked for the county school system for 29 years, currently as a vocational education teacher and administrator at Jefferson. She’s also active as a Florida A&M University alum and has started an online book store concentrating on Black authors, including graduates of historically Black schools.

The Tampa Police Benevolent Association last week endorsed Henderson over Gudes even though he is a retired Tampa police officer.

On the council, Gudes has been a prominent opponent of Mayor Jane Castor.

Asked how she views the conflicts between Castor and the council, Henderson said, “Even if I disagree with the mayor, the way I go about it would be different,” calling herself “a collaborator. There may be situations where I would be more levelheaded.”

The Tampa Bay Times has not named the aide, whose identity as part of the workplace complaint is exempt from public records under Florida law.