A Texas city manager was terminated from her role after she was caught on film ‘pole-dancing’ while away on a work-related trip.
Kimberly Judge, 59, was fired from her role in Dayton’s top office after a video clip surfaced on social media that appeared to show the city official dancing around a light pole during a business trip.
The one-second clip was shot in Dallas where Judge, the first woman and Black person to serve as the town’s chief executive, traveled to attend the Texas Municipal League Conference as a representative for the city of Dayton.
She was placed on leave immediately after the ‘inappropriate’ clip surfaced, in late September, but was ultimately fired months later after the city council voted 4-1 to end her employment in November.
However, controversy over her unprofessional conduct quickly erupted as city council members were divided on how to best discipline the official.
Those who opposed Judge’s actions called her behavior inappropriate, while the ones who defended her stated that her actions were not as outrageous as others claimed.
Yet, after the clip came to light Judge claimed it was part of ‘a low-level smear campaign’ as in the week prior to her ‘insubordinate behavior’ she allegedly filed a racial and sex-based discrimination complaint against city leaders – which was later investigated by an independent firm.
The third-party firm found no evidence to back her allegations.
As for the investigation into the ‘pole-dancing’ clip, other third-party investigators determined Judge had in fact violated the city’s policies.
But, a PR firm that represents the now-former Dayton official stated her client was merely ‘dancing and enjoying herself with a group of close friends.’
Several locals present at the November 18 meeting meeting spoke up in support of Judge, claiming the 59-year-old official may be victim of a larger plan to oust her.
‘We are here because of the video and there is nothing that you can tell where it filmed and where,’ Dayton resident and former city councilmember Sherial Alwson said.
‘If there was an issue, why wasn’t it shared then? Think there are people who ran for council that are out to fire Kimberly. Is her performance being questioned? The citizens of Dayton are here to support our city manager.’
Others vocalized their opposition to her behavior, claiming a ‘hardline’ against Judge’s unprofessional behavior.
‘Leaders don’t do things like that,’ Councilman Adam Spear said during the November meeting.
‘The main issue I had was … it was a city-paid trip,’ Spear said in an earlier session that saw Judge placed on leave.
‘Leaders don’t take taxpayer dollars and then go act a fool while you’re representing the city.’
The council’s majority vote to end Judge’s employment resulted in the appointment of Derek Woods, the city’s Police Chief and Assistant City Manager.
Woods will serve in the role temporarily, until a permanent replacement is hired.
Before her unexpected removal, Judge held a combined 38 years of municipal government experience spanning across multiple Texas cities.
She spent eight years working in various roles within the population 10,000 town, serving as the city’s Director of Planning, Assistant City Manager and Interim Public Works Director, before her promotion to City Manager in January 2023.
Following the overwhelming vote, Judge announced plans to pursue legal action against the city citing a breach of contract.