Commissioner’s Chief of Staff Admits to Unethical Conduct and Smears Residents Input

Wes Hodge — former chair of a partisan political party in Orange County, serial candidate for office, and now Chief of Staff to Commissioner Kelly Simrad — just crossed the line. In public comments before the Redistricting Advisory Committee, Hodge admitted to spying over people’s shoulders at public meetings to read private conversations on their phones. That is unethical, unacceptable, and outrageous for a county employee.

Then, using that “information,” Hodge launched into an attack on ordinary residents who spoke in support of a map — implying their voices were fake and manufactured. He didn’t say “WASHINGTON-2” by name, but everyone in the room knew exactly what he was talking about. His allies have been attacking WASHINGTON-2 for weeks, while promoting maps created and pushed by political insiders.

Are we now to believe that community-organizing groups like the Tildenville Community Alliance, People of Clarcona–Ocoee Community Association, Pine Hills Community Council, People of Lockhart Community Association, and the North & South West Orange Plan are somehow illegitimate simply because they communicate with residents and make everyday citizens aware of the issues? That is exactly what engaged citizenship is supposed to look like.

Here’s the hypocrisy:
Jason Henry, the namesake of the “Henry” maps, is a former political consultant and current staffer for a U.S. Congressman.

Roberta Johnson, who authored one of the Henry maps, is a former candidate for office.

Support for the Henry maps has come largely from known politicos, current elected officials, and political operatives — the exact profile Hodge claims is corrupting the process.

Yet Hodge’s outrage isn’t aimed at them. Instead, he smears regular people — neighbors, church members, retirees — who are exercising their constitutional right to speak. The truth? WASHINGTON-2 is the only map receiving genuine, widespread, organic support from everyday residents, backed as well by respected institutions like the Chamber of Commerce. It has drawn endorsements from organized community groups across West Orange County, including Pine Hills, Clarcona–Ocoee, and the grassroots North & South West Orange Plan. That is real democracy in action — and Hodge wants to delegitimize it.

And where is Hodge’s outrage when Erika Jackson, representing District 1, falsely claimed to speak for Tildenville — a historically Black community born from the injustices of segregation — telling the committee the opposite of what Tildenville residents themselves have said, repeatedly, in person? When confronted by the media, Jackson refused to comment or acknowledge the allegation. Rather than defend Tildenville’s right to speak for itself, Hodge dismissed their testimony as having been “put up to it,” implying they lacked the capacity to form their own views. That’s not just disrespect — it’s the kind of condescending mindset that has left Tildenville under-resourced for generations.

And let’s be clear: no one in support of WASHINGTON-2 has ever brought politics or candidates into their testimony. The only people introducing that narrative are opponents of WASHINGTON-2 — including District 1 delegate Bobby Olszewski, who from the dais warned against drawing maps for specific candidates. That implication, raised unilaterally, risks putting any eventual map at legal risk by opening the door to claims of political intent.

Hodge’s comments were an attempt to create suspicion around the only map with broad resident and institutional support. The committee should reject efforts to discredit genuine community voices, especially when those efforts come from individuals engaging in conduct that undermines the integrity of the process itself.