ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — 9 Investigates uncovered the daughter of the Edgewood mayor was given a job at city hall, and no one else was even able to apply.
State law and city policy prohibits similar job placements, but the city only made changes to the position after Channel 9's Karla Ray started asking questions.
Mayor Ray Bagshaw’s daughter, Raelea Bagshaw, was added to the payroll in February. Paystubs Eyewitness News obtained show she makes $720 a month to clean Edgewood City Hall and the police department. She replaced the former company, Covenant Cleaning, which used to charge the city a total of $670 per month.
“I think it looks bad,” Edgewood shopper Doris Bass said.
“It’s a conflict of interest. I'm sorry, there's too many other people out there who want jobs,” Edgewood shopper Sharon Krutel said.
State law suggests it may not just be a conflict of interest.
“This appears to me to be a violation of Florida's nepotism law that says they should not be involved, directly or indirectly, of hiring a relative,” WFTV political analyst Rick Foglesong said.
Edgewood’s City Clerk Bea Meeks told Eyewitness News by phone that she approached the mayor about hiring his daughter, and Meeks also oversees the work done at city hall. However, Edgewood’s City Charter states the city clerk serves at the pleasure of city council.
“She is a blood relative of the mayor, the mayor has control over the city clerk. It shouldn’t have happened,” Foglesong said.
Meeks told Eyewitness News by phone that Raelea Bagshaw is well-qualified and the position is temporary, but the city isn’t actively looking for anyone else. In fact, the cleaning position was never publicly posted and only one person was sought for the job.
“If I were the mayor, I wouldn’t want anything to do with that, because of this (perception),” resident Jason Goddard said.
Mayor Bagshaw declined an interview with 9 Investigates, reiterating that he had no involvement in the hiring or supervision of his daughter. To avoid any appearance of impropriety, Raelea Bagshaw was informed last week that her service to the city would end at the end of October.
Cox Media Group
