After firing Rob Hernandez on Wednesday, Cape Coral City Council appoints Mike Ilczyszn interim city manager

CAPE CORAL, Florida — After firing Rob Hernandez on Wednesday, the Cape Coral City Council chose Mike Ilczyszn to be the city manager in the short term.

Members of the council say they want this position to be filled until the end of September.

Now, we’re finding out more about Rob Hernandez’s response and a letter sent to the city by a lawyer who works for him.

In a letter, the former city manager says that Cape Coral punished him for speaking out about “discriminatory employment practices.”

On February 14, 2023, attorney Benjamin Yorkman from Yormak Employment & Disability Law in Bonita Springs sent this letter to the city attorney.

Hernandez says that he was fired because he brought up several problems to the city council and the mayor.

These are very serious claims that Hernandez and his lawyer are making.

In the letter, Hernandez names the people he hired to work for the city.

One of these hires is the economic business development officer, Sharon Woodberry, who Hernandez hired.

Woodberry moved to Cape Coral after doing a similar job in Ohio for 15 years.

The letter says that when some council members found out that Woodberry is African-American, they made comments about her looks, behavior, and skills that were based on racial stereotypes.

In the letter, Mayor John Gunter of Cape Coral is quoted as saying that Woodberry was not the right person for the job.

The letter talks about more than just race, too.

Hernandez and his legal team say that some council members don’t like people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.

It talks about a time when Mayor Gunter didn’t like a lesbian getting a job as a customer service rep. Gunter is quoted as saying that the city shouldn’t hire people like that for jobs where they deal with the public.

The letter says that the city has until February 24 to answer.