A San Diego County Human Relations Commissioner who faced potential removal from the commission following his controversial statements about transgender people filed a lawsuit Wednesday against San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, claiming Gloria discriminated against him for his religious beliefs by removing him from a city board.
Dennis Hodges came under fire after he abstained from voting with other members of the Human Relations Commission regarding the body's support of a letter condemning transphobia.
Hodges, who is also a pastor of the Church of Yeshua Ha Mashiach in Lemon Grove, cited his Christian beliefs when explaining his abstention and said "transgenderism ... is an abomination in the eyes of God," the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Those remarks, along with other similar alleged statements, led the commission to vote last year on whether to remove Hodges but not enough votes were cast in favor of his expulsion.
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In his lawsuit filed Wednesday in San Diego federal court, Hodges alleges that after the vote, some of his fellow commissioners influenced Gloria to veto Hodges' reappointment to San Diego's Citizens Advisory Board on Police/Community Relations earlier this year. Hodges had served on that board since 2017.
The complaint alleges that in a memorandum explaining his decision, Gloria said Hodges "has made repeated concerning public comments about LGBTQ people -- specifically, the transgender community" and he couldn't support Hodges' "reappointment to a board tasked with promoting a positive relationship between the police department and the community it serves."
Hodges alleges the decision was made "solely based on his beliefs on human creation and transgenderism -- issues that are unrelated to his role on the Advisory Board."
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"I'm hoping that no one would have to go through what I went through," Hodges told NBC 7. "We should all have the freedom to exercise our freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and there should be no first amendment retaliation to anyone who speaks up.”
NBC 7 reached out to Gloria's office for comment, but a spokesperson responded saying "the Mayor cannot comment on active litigation."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and Hodges' reinstatement to the Citizens Advisory Board.
One of Hodges' attorneys, Mariah Gondeiro, said in a statement, "It is unacceptable that individuals of faith are being explicitly forbidden from serving in government simply because of their faith. The mayor of San Diego must be held accountable for his unconstitutional actions."
NBC 7's Jeanette Quezada contributed to this report.
