The former chief of staff to a California state senator who recently left the Democratic Party to join the Republican Party filed a lawsuit against her on Thursday, alleging that the senator sexually harassed her, created a hostile work environment and fired her in retaliation for her rejecting his sexual advances.
The lawsuit, filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, claims that for most of 2023, state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gill (R-Jackson) “engaged in an erratic, controlling, sexually dominating abuse of authority and power” against her chief of staff, Chad Condit.
“This was a sex-based transactional relationship that involved unwanted advances and sexual advances, as well as coercion and the use of power,” according to the lawsuit, which also names the California State Senate as a defendant.
Alvarado-Gil’s attorney denied the allegations.
“A disgruntled former employee fabricated a bizarre story without evidence in order to get money. We hope the senator is fully exonerated of any wrongdoing in these bogus, financially motivated claims,” lawyer Ognyan Gavrilov said in a statement provided to the Times by the Senate Republican Caucus.
Alvarado-Gil was elected in 2022 as a Democrat in a staunchly red district spanning rural territory northeast of the Central Valley. Her election, following a crowded field of Republicans, was seen as a coincidence of California’s top-two primary system divided the G.O.P. The vote took place in June and paved the way for two Democrats to advance to the general election, even though they received just one vote. Total votes 41%. Alvarado-Gil won in November.
Alvarado-Gil switched political parties in August and joined the Republican caucus in the state Senate. Criticism of Democratic leadership,
Condit was Alvarado-Gil’s campaign manager in 2022, and then joined her state office as chief of staff.
The lawsuit alleges that early in his tenure, Alvarado-Gil began “seducing Plaintiff and sharing private and intimate details of his life,” including his dating life, divorce, and marital infidelity. According to the complaint, Alvarado-Gil spoke openly about “his vices,” “which included sex and drugs, using ayahuasca, and taking gummies.”
According to the complaint, Alvarado-Gil repeatedly made inappropriate and sexually suggestive comments to Condit, and used his position to exert dominance and power over him. For example, in March 2023, Alvarado-Gil allegedly asked Condit his opinion on “throuples,” and asked if he and his wife were open to one.
He also allegedly commented that he “would be open to having sex with her” because her father, former U.S. Representative Gary Condit, was famous accused of having an affair Washington with intern Chandra Levy. Levy was murdered in 2001, and the elder Condit was initially investigated for her murder The scam spread across the country in the months before the 9/11 attacks. his death remained unresolved,
The sexually explicit comments eventually turned physical, according to the complaint.
Chad Condit alleges that once while on the job in Inyo County, Alvarado-Gill demanded that he show his loyalty to her “by having sex with her.” According to the lawsuit, Condit and Alvarado-Gill were driving and stopped to use the restroom. After Condit got back in the car, “she pulled down his pants and said, ‘I want you to kiss this and prove your loyalty.'”
“After several months of building a dominance-subordination relationship, Plaintiff became numb and began acting without thinking, and this is when Alvarado-Gil established his ability to exert dominance over him,” the lawsuit states.
Condit allegedly performed sexual acts on her on multiple occasions, the complaint states.
“The last time Plaintiff performed oral sex as demanded by Alvarado-Gil, Plaintiff suffered back injuries while performing oral sex while seated in the car seat, causing her body to twist and contort in the confined space of the car,” the lawsuit states. “Plaintiff later went to the doctor and found out the injuries were more severe, and Plaintiff suffered three herniated discs in her back and a collapsed hip.”
Condit later underwent hip surgery for his injuries.
Condit did not return a text message or call from the Times, and his attorneys could not be reached for comment. The lawsuit claims that Condit’s “personal and professional relationships are forever changed, and his employment record and public employment opportunities have been irreparably harmed and will never be the same.”
Condit’s complaint extends beyond sex, and includes allegations that Alvarado-Gil used her to run errands, chauffeur his daughter around and take care of his dog.
By late summer 2023, Condit had begun to distance himself from Alvarado-Gil’s alleged ties, according to the lawsuit, which said the senator and his deputy chief of staff, who is a childhood friend of his, went to the Secretary of the Senate to “have Plaintiff fired from his job as punishment and retaliation.” He was later issued a “fraudulent disciplinary letter with allegations of inappropriate behavior” that Alvarado-Gil allegedly made up against him.
The suit also alleges that Alvarado-Gil took steps to grow closer to Condit’s wife and “put herself in a position of control” over the couple’s lives, including hiring Condit’s wife for his campaign and visiting the same beautician as her in March 2023. Later that summer, when Condit allegedly began rejecting Alvarado-Gil’s advances, the senator went to his home “and lied to his wife that Plaintiff was meeting with someone to harass her.”
The lawsuit claims that in December, Alvardo-Gil sent Condit a message informing him he was fired, and attempted to force him to resign by offering to hire his wife.
The suit also claims that Senate Secretary Erika Contreras “blindly accepted Alvarado-Gil’s retaliatory actions against Plaintiff and endorsed her mistreatment.”
In a statement, Contreras acknowledged the lawsuit but said the Senate had not been informed of it.
“We are in discussions with counsel to assess next steps,” Contreras wrote. “The Senate takes all complaints very seriously, but is unable to comment on matters involving pending litigation.”
