State attorney accused of improper campaigning by former prosecutor

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A former prosecutor for State Attorney Angela Corey claims her office pressures employees to campaign for her during the work day.

The accusations come from a 16-year-veteran of the State Attorney's Office, who resigned May 9. Action News Jax is investigating the claims and went to the State Attorney's Office on Wednesday to get answers.

The managing director for Corey's office, Patricia Dodson, tells Action News Jax this is the case of a disgruntled former employee making false claims.

Former prosecutor Doug Dorsey resigned in May saying, among other things, he and other employees were pressured to campaign for Ms. Corey on taxpayer time. Action News Jax got our hands on an email sent by Dorsey on Friday, May 6.

In the email, Dorsey said he'd like to file a complaint and invoke any and all protections available to him in revealing information.

Dorsey claims, "There has been significant politicking for Ms. Corey's election team on work time and in the State Attorney's Office building … ." Dorsey provides several examples such as pressure to donate, attend fundraisers and collect petitions.

Action News Jax went through other emails we obtained through a public records request and found Dorsey was concerned about his claims being shared with superiors and had fear of retaliation. Fast forward three days, to May 9, when Dorsey sent his resignation letter.

“There are obvious untruths frankly, that he was reporting,” Dodson said Wednesday.

Dodson sat down with Action News Jax for over an hour to discuss Dorsey’s claims.

"We’ve gone over and above to make sure no one feels pressure, coerced, anything, to engage in this campaign … It is our office policy and Ms. Corey has been emphatic that there will be no campaign activities occurring in this office on work time for her campaign or any campaign,” Dodson said.

Dodson also said Dorsey was being investigated for his work history and potential future with the office.

“He hasn’t been (an) extraordinary employee for many, many years. He has been average and less than average in his performance and his commitment to his office … This office, this management team and Ms. Corey had lost confidence in his ability to be an effective prosecutor,” Dodson said.

Action News Jax also asked Dodson to address Dorsey's concern about his complaint being shared with superiors and his fear of retaliation.

“Could I have handled it differently? You know, under those circumstances I don’t think it was an issue,” Dodson said.

Dodson told Action News Jax complaints are handled on a case-by-case basis. We asked if other employees should feel comfortable coming forward with their complaints, and if they should believe that they'll be handled in a way that will protect them even though they may be raising concerns about superiors or other employees.

“I don’t think anybody who works with me would have any concern that I would allow any retaliation to go on against any employee,” Dodson said.

Dodson also told Action News Jax she wasn’t surprised by Dorsey’s actions and she believes, along with trying to keep his job, his complaints are politically based.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some motive associated with the election,” Dodson said.

Action News Jax spoke about that with Wes White, who is one of two candidates running against Angela Corey in the Republican primary for state attorney.

“Well I can tell you that my campaign had nothing to do with the release of that information and I would suggest you contact the Nelson campaign,” White said.

White also spoke about his work experience with Doug Dorsey and described him as a good attorney.

Action News Jax reached out to the campaign of Melissa Nelson, who is the other Republican challenger to Angela Corey. We have yet to hear back.

Dodson tells us Dorsey's complaint with the state was dismissed but we called the governor's office Wednesday and were told that as of right now, the Inspector General hadn't received a complaint from Doug Dorsey.

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