Ana Cordova’s Aug. 9 grievance chronicles alleged reoccurring sexual harassment by UISD Supt. David Gonzalez

Below are excerpts of a 04/21/21 phone call from UISD’s Associate Supt. of Curriculum and Instruction David H. Gonzalez to veteran district employee Ana Cordova, an LPAC (Language Proficiency Assessment Committee) clerk at the United South 9th Grade Campus. 

At the time he made the call to Cordova’s cell phone, Gonzalez was a contender to replace retiring Supt. Roberto Santos.

Cordova had been a member of the staff of Washington Middle School when Gonzalez was the school’s principal.

As the time frame began to narrow in 2021 for the selection of the new UISD superintendent, Gonzalez asked Cordova to recant a grievance complaint she made to UISD Human Resources for sexual advances she said Gonzalez made to her during the 2011-2012 school year at Washington Middle School.

Gonzalez was named UISD superintendent in July 2021.

Cordova did not write the letter he had asked for, even as she feared that as superintendent he could be in a position to terminate her employment, a job that provided her the financial resources to care for her parents.

She said the substance of the recorded call and the anguish she felt after Gonzalez’s demeaning and insensitive suggestions for how she could help him by recanting the earlier grievance, gave her the courage to put to paper a history of other unwanted and reoccurring sexual advances she said he has made to her over the years. Those are part of Exhibit A of the grievance she filed on the afternoon of the August 9 UISD convocation spectacle.

In addition to physical advances she said Gonzalez made to her person, she alleges that his sexual harassment extended to him asking her to show up to work early, to join him at his mother’s house, and on one occasion calling her on her cell phone to come into his office at Washington Middle School to come and “see his boxers.”

The grievance reads, “At every sexual advance the Grievant ignored his incessant demands for sex and kept on with her work duties out of fear of being fired.” It also cites the ensuing anxiety, stress, panic attacks, high blood pressure, and depression that eventually led to her hospitalization, continued doctor’s care, and therapy to navigate the mental trauma she alleges Gonzalez recklessly heaped on the tranquil life she formerly enjoyed as a hard-working school district employee.

Nothing in the raucous, celebratory UISD convocation of Aug. 9 – the first since the pandemic – or Gonzalez’s brio in the star role of the leader of the City’s largest school district, a man who believed that a call from a Congressman’s office was a measure of importance – foretold that 10 days later he would be suspended (with pay) from a job he so coveted.

Gonzalez’s future likely rests in the outcome of a third party investigation conducted by a SanAntonio law firm.

In the aftermath of Cordova’s grievance, Gonzalez, who has been suspended with pay, said he believes the audio of the 4/21 telephone conversation with Cordova may have been doctored.

Gonzalez’s attorney, his brother-in-law, Tomás Ramirez III of Devine – commenting after the special called Aug 19 UISD board meeting that suspended Supt. Gonzalez drew the unsavory parallel between Gonzalez’s current dilemma of sexual harassment allegations to the many of indicted former president Donald Trump.

Ramirez also said that the district knew of Cordova’s first grievance and that the board hired him as superintendent, despite knowing of the allegation.

TO HEAR AUDIO OF THE ENTIRE CALL, CLICK BELOW:

TO READ ANA CORDOVA’S AUG. 9, 2023 GRIEVANCE, CLICK HERE.

BELOW ARE EXCERPTS FROM THE CALL.

ANA CORDOVA: Hello?

LORENA CHAVEZ: Ya está, espera. ••• Hold on.

DAVID GONZALEZ: Ana, nothing that important, but the Congressman called me from Washington, DC, y dije a la chingada! (LAUGHTER) y Oscar, my secretary, had told me, “So that I hope you don’t mind, they called me from his office. They wanted your cell number, your house number, everything else.” I said, “You give ‘em whatever they want.”

OK, what’s going on, Ana? Talk to me.

ANA CORDOVA: I don’t know. I’m just nervous. I don’t know what to do, sir. You talk to me. 

DAVID GONZALEZ: OK. Look, and I told you, look, within this, now there’s 20 days. They can ask open records, somebody, and they may. Y sale that stuff’s ‘gonna’ come out. So your name’s gonna’ be on there and mine is gonna’ be on there. In the event, and I’m not telling you to do it, Ana, I don’t want you to think I’m telling you to do this.
I’m telling you what options you could do. If you were to write [00:01:00] something saying that you did it because you were upset at me because I was gonna’ make you resign or whatever, uh, that would pretty much shut the case. ‘Cause you know what? Then there was no sexual harassment. Even though the district said que no era para nada, it’s still a case. But if you were to write that, it kind of shuts the case.

So when they look at it, pos there’s no case and nothing to report. The lady came out and said there was nothing.

And I guarantee right now, look who’s calling right now on the phone: Henry Cuellar, a Congressman. As the next superintendent, in my position right now, I’m the incoming one, I will tell HR and Mr. Santos, uh, “We need to close this case and move on.
And I don’t want, we’re not gonna’ touch Ana Cordova, and also, Santos, you do something that I don’t want to, and you’re gonna’ have a bigger, bigger problem on your hands.” So I’m gonna’ protect you on it. I promise you. I gave my word, uh, as, uh, as your friend.

ANA CORDOVA: Okay.

DAVID GONZALEZ: And again, I’m gonna’ tell you again what I told you yesterday, whatever pain I caused you, whatever molestiada porque andaba tambien chiflado por pendejo yo, because I am, There’s no excuse, there’s no excuse, Ana. I apologize to you as a man.

Hasta me fue a confesar con el padre todo. I mean, I had to, uh, when I went for the interview, my last interview on Monday, um, I went to confession first. Y le dije al padre, “Pero I commit adultery every day, padre.” He said, what do you mean? And I said, well, sir, the Bible says that when you think of it,..He started laughing.
La Biblia dice if you think about it, estas pecando.

ANA CORDOVA: Yes, that’s true.

DAVID GONZALEZ: Le dije I say bad words, se me salen, little white lies, but nothing major. Um, and I said I need to be a better father, better husband. So I don’t pay attention to it. Like I said, I’m with the TV y no le hago caso a mi esposa. That’s neglect tambien.

DAVID GONZALEZ: I’m being very sincere. I am sorry for whatever pain I’ve caused you, whatever. I don’t know what’s going on in your campus, but if you’re having issues, in my position, Ana, you do this for me and for yourself too. ‘Cause you’re protecting your name also. ‘Cause your name will come out on the paper, but if we shut the case in the eye and there’s no, no case there.

ANA CORDOVA: Okay.

DAVID GONZALEZ: Um. Um, I will tell you, Ana, that if you have a problem, you call me, and I will take care of it. And if you gotta’ get moved somewhere else there’s an opening, yo te doy palabra that as man, I will do that for you because you doing this will avoid an embarrassment for both of us, okay?

ANA CORDOVA: OK.

DAVID GONZALEZ: Yes. So if you’re gonna’ do that, you tell me, call me tomorrow, whatever.
Get with Lorena, and I’ll take care of it.

And what I’ll do first is I will call Mr. Santos. I’ll go, “Look, this lady reached out to me to do it, she wants to do it, but she’s only gonna’ do it if we’re not gonna’ touch her. We’re gonna’ leave her alone. She tells me that, and I’ll take care of it.” But I promise you, Ana, no te van hacer nada ’cause I will not allow it.

DAVID GONZALEZ: Oye, Ana, ••• is not ready to be a principal, right? 

ANA CORDOVA: No. To, to be honest with you…

DAVID GONZALEZ: She’s one of the ones that Mr. Santos wants to recommend.
I’m hoping that the board – and I talked to the board members. As a matter of fact, I had lunch with the president Mr. Veliz. I had to pay, but it’s no big deal, right? Mm-hmm. Pos he’s the president, I can’t be gacho and say, Hey, you gotta’ buy your own. Um, and one of the things that he told me, he says he might, he might decide, the board might decide that [00:06:00] they’re gonna’ hold off on the recommendations until I come in.

•••

DAVID GONZALEZ: Mira. Ana, Santos wants to make all these recommendations y se va ir. Why don’t you leave me and let me do it? But yes, Ana, if you were to do what I’m, what I’m telling you to do, I pray (?) you my word.

DAVID GONZALEZ: Someone were to tell me, no, David, she’s not going to turn anything in, we’re gonna’ go after her. You know what? No, I’m not gonna’ allow that, Ana, I promise you. Okay?

ANA CORDOVA: Yes.

DAVID GONZALEZ: Let me know when you have it, and I’ll take care of [00:08:00] it.

ANA CORDOVA: Let’s do that.

DAVID GONZALEZ: Okay. And I’ll, I’ll check first. 

ANA CORDOVA: Um, You told me what I need to write.

DAVID GONZALEZ: I mean, I’m suggesting you write something like: “Back in 2011, I mean, I could say I made an accusation against David Gonzalez, principal of Washington Middle School, for sexual harassment. Um, This is to make it make it very clear that at no time did he ever do that.
I did it outta’ malice. I was upset because this happened. I apologize to him. Uh, I, I, I, I don’t wanna’ cause any problems right now with his future. I understand he’s a (unintelligible) for the superintendent, ta ta ta ta. Just keep it real simple. Don’t make it long. You don’t even have to put the last part.”

DAVID GONZALEZ: Just put, you know, uh, I, I, it was not done out…I was emotional. That was a decision, and it was not done, uh, to hurt him in any way or whatever. Just very simple. But see what HR will look at – It goes, this is the accusation. Even though the district had no finding, now she’s saying she didn’t, we’re gonna’ close the case.

ANA CORDOVA: [00:09:00] That is not gonna’ like, hurt me in another way, like here at work?

DAVID GONZALEZ: I will make sure that it won’t. I’ll make sure that it won’t. Okay. And if it is, like I told you, and if I found out it is, then I’m gonna’ tell you not to do it. Porque tampoco no te voy a lastimar. Okay? Because I’ve done enough lastimando to you already. 

ANA CORDOVA: Okay. Okay. So I just call you tomorrow.

DAVID GONZALEZ: Call me tomorrow. Call Lorena and then I’ll, I’ll, I’ll call you back. I’ll, I’ll feel the waters first, okay? ANA CORDOVA: Okay.

DAVID GONZALEZ: Thank you, Ana, appreciate it. God bless you. Te cuidas.

ANA CORDOVA: Likewise, you too. Okay, bye-bye.