State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil’s former chief of staff has sued her for alleged sexual harassment, claiming that freshman legislator forced him to perform sex acts and then fired him when he resisted.
Chad Condit, the son of former Congressman Gary Condit, filed charges in Sacramento Superior Court against both Alvarado-Gil and the state senate for being in violation of state employment protections.
Alvarado-Gil’s new chief of staff, Vanessa Bravo, forwarded a statement to the Westside Connect from the senator’s attorney, Ognian Gavrilov. The statement read: “A disgruntled former employee has fabricated an outlandish story, presented without evidence, to get a payday. We expect that the senator will be fully cleared of any wrongdoing of these bogus, financially motivated claims.”
Secretary of the Senate Erika Contreras said in a statement, “The Senate has not been served in this matter, but we are in discussion with counsel to assess next steps. The Senate takes all complaints incredibly seriously, but is unable to comment on matters involving pending litigation.”
In the complaint, graphic details describe how Alvarado-Gil demanded Condit perform oral sex as a display of his loyalty. One such act, according to Condit, resulted in three herniated discs and a dislocated hip.
The suit comes about a month after Alvarado-Gil crossed the aisle to join the Republican party, saying, “Since I’ve served in our state’s Capitol, I’ve had a front-row seat to witness the supermajority push California in the wrong direction, having a grave effect on our once Golden state. The Democratic Party is unrecognizable to what I once knew and lacks the will to fix the problems plaguing this state.”
It was thought by some that Alvarado-Gil’s switch was based less on ideology and more on political survival, since it seems unlikely that the Republicans will repeat their 2022 mistake of splitting the vote six ways and allowing two Democrats to advance to the general election.
According to court documents, Condit alleges that Alvarado-Gil shared details about her marriage, sex life and recreational drug use, and asked if he’d ever cheat on his wife. At one point, the senator said she thought Condit should be more like his father, who said “I have not been a perfect man” when asked about extramarital affairs during a 2001 interview with NBC’s Connie Chung. The elder Condit was caught up in the unsolved murder of the former Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy, who hailed from Modesto.
By January of 2023, Condit claims, Alvarado-Gil was allegedly using Condit for personal errands during work hours. Alvarado-Gil then began making sexual passes at him, and eventually pressured him into performing oral sex on her.
In retaliation for his objections, Condit said Alvarado-Gil prompted the state Senate’s human resources representative to reprimand him.
Condit, who was fired by Alvarado-Gil effective Dec. 31, 2023, is seeking compensation for lost wages, loss of earning capacity, employee benefits and damages for emotional distress.
