Senate president calls Wright's allegations against women's shelter 'troubling'

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo wrote Friday that Sen. Tom Wright has made some "very serious allegations regarding the living conditions and financial management of the Beacon Center," Volusia County's domestic violence shelter, calling the reports "troubling," and that she is "pleased that they are being reviewed."

Wright, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, has been accused of flirting with shelter residents evacuating ahead of a hurricane and angrily confronting the shelter's then-interim CEO on Sept. 2, an action caught on video that has been widely circulated.

"As we have seen most recently with the criminal charges against former executives of the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, just because an entity is serving a vulnerable population does not mean they are above reproach or oversight," Passidomo continued, in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel that was provided to the News-Journal Saturday.

"That being said," Passidomo wrote, "I take all of these allegations very seriously. Survivors of domestic violence deserve our compassion and support, and their safety is and should remain our focus.”

Angie Pye, the former CEO of the Beacon House, banned Wright from the Beacon Center years before his most recent allegations and said he has since made untrue accusations about the center. She said the Senate president's statement was disappointing in that it apparently addressed allegations Wright made about the shelter, but not the allegations about Wright's behavior.

"She just took him at his word and made a statement about the Beacon Center," Pye said, adding she intends to file a Senate ethics complaint against Wright.

More: Sen. Tom Wright was banned from women's shelter after allegedly flirting with survivor

"I'm a little concerned that there will not be any objectivity to this, that there will be some accountability for his behavior," Pye said.

Pye said Sunday that the Beacon Center was underfunded, as many domestic violence shelters across the state are. She said one reason for the Beacon Center's issues goes back to Wright, who she said poisoned the well with one potential source of funds.

The Fun Coast Foundation was planning to host a fundraising event for the Beacon Center when Pye said she got a call from one of its members saying the organization could no longer help after hearing from Wright.

"I don't know what he said," Pye said. "But after that is when all the problems started and Carmen (Ruiz, the Beacon Center board president) started talking about meeting with Tom Wright."

Growing tensions between Ruiz and Pye led to her Aug. 30 resignation and resignations by other staff and board members.

Passidomo's statement came in response to a demand by Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried for a full investigation of Wright's behavior. Fried called the reports coming out of Volusia County "damning."

“There is no excuse for Sen. Wright to lay a hand on anyone, much less a woman working to protect her clients at a shelter for abused women. And the additional reports about his prior attempts to flirt with young clients at that same shelter — involving discussions of prostitution and offers of expensive trips — are truly sickening."

Passidomo said Senate rules require allegations of misconduct to be based "on a complaint filed by someone with personal knowledge of the alleged misconduct. The Senators unanimously approved our Rules, and as President, it is my responsibility to follow them with regard to any allegation involving any Senator."

Pye has said Wright has alleged that the Beacon Center is a haven for human trafficking, prostitution, and drugs. Wright even filed a formal complaint with the Department of Children and Families' Office of Inspector General, which Pye said determined the allegations were baseless.

Wright, in the Sept. 2 altercation, was issued a trespass warning to stay off the property by Daytona Beach police.

A recent News-Journal report quoted abuse survivor Shelby Dunlap as saying that she and her child were evacuating the shelter on a bus during a hurricane when Wright − who'd arranged for the buses − talked to her about prostitutes in Cuba, topless women on boats, and offered her a trip to Las Vegas.

Wright, reached Saturday afternoon, declined to comment for the record.

This story has been updated.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Senate president responds to calls for investigation of Sen. Tom Wright