Pueblo Mayor Graham accuses councilmember of sending inappropriate emails to staff members

Warning: This article contains explicit language. Discretion is advised.

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) – At a city council meeting on Monday, March 24, Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham accused a city council member of sending inappropriate and "wildly disrespectful" emails to her staff members.

During the livestreamed meeting, Graham handed out emails she said were sent to her staff by Councilmember Roger Gomez that she called "sexual harassment." Graham said that City Council President Mark Aliff advised her not to take the issue publicly at the meeting, but she disagreed.

According to Graham, the email correspondence was forwarded to Aliff, who had discussions with Gomez about the issue – but the inappropriate communication didn't stop, Graham said.

"I don’t care what you do on your own time, I don’t care what you say to each other, I don’t care what you say to me. But to put an email, a sexual comment, to my city staff is not tolerable and I’m not going to stand for it," Graham said during the meeting.

She then gave an example of the content of these emails, directly addressing Gomez.

"And I do not appreciate, Councilor Gomez, emails to my Chief of Staff, quoting this: 'Hey, I got my pee pee whacked once already, and it hurt so good, just saying. Look, Goldilocks doesn’t scare me and she can’t hold her breath and stomp her feet with all that she wants,'" Graham read.

In response to the emails, Graham said she has asked the city attorney to draft a memo and policy for City Council outlining the standards for proper and appropriate lines of communication between the council and the Mayor's Office.

In a rebuttal, Councilmember Gomez emphasized that it was important to "keep these matters in context."

KRDO13 reached out to Gomez, who said they weren't email(s), but rather "third party non-verbal communication." We have asked him what that means. He also told KRDO13, "Did I send this communication to the mayor? No. Did I owned [sic] up to it? Yes. But I'll be damned if this mayor thinks this political assassination will silence me just because I have the courage to challenge her."

"I have no choice but to address the tactic that she’s stooping to, in an effort to discredit me or any other person who has the courage to challenge her," Gomez also said during the meeting.

Gomez argued that his comments were made out of frustration over a lack of communication from the mayor's office. He alleged that Graham previously instructed staff not to provide him with information and barred him from speaking with numerous members of her staff.

"This is all under the abuse excuse allegation that I got angry with her department heads, which I did. I got fed up with no response, nobody calling me back, nobody giving me information, so I can represent my district," Gomez said.

Gomez went on to say that his comments were made "just in fun" and weren't meant to be shared.

“If this is the best she has, to come after me about fourth grade banter, because I stand up to her and I will continue standing up to her,” Gomez said. “So if I sound a little frustrated, you bet. But I am an elected official and I refuse to sit down and shut up.”

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