Florida woman claims mayor wanted sex in exchange for speed bumps, report says

Florida Mayor David Stewart was reportedly accused of attempting to exchange sex for town speed bumps. (Town of Lantana, Florida)

A Florida woman has reportedly accused the mayor of her town of trying to exchange sex for the speed bumps she was seeking.

Catherine Padilla of Lantana filed a complaint against Mayor David Stewart on Jan. 2 with the Florida Commission on Ethics, the Palm Beach Post reported Tuesday, in regard to the alleged indecent proposal.

At the time of the alleged incident, Padilla was trying to get speed bumps installed in her neighborhood, she told the outlet.

She and the mayor reportedly knew each other through the Kiwanis Club. Following a club meeting about three years ago, Padilla told the Post that she and Stewart went out for lunch and claimed that afterward, he drove her to a motel and propositioned her for sex. She claimed she told him “no,” and they ultimately left, the outlet said.

The town passed the measure in August 2015, the Post reported. But before the vote took place, Padilla reportedly claimed that Stewart tried to get her to sleep with him again in exchange for the speed bumps. She told the Post that she again turned him down.

Padilla told the outlet that “now” she was “finally feeling strong enough” to come forward with the accusation.

Stewart vehemently denied the accusations to the Post, calling them “totally and completely false.”

“I won’t dignify them by commenting,” he said. “I continue to focus on doing my best for the residents of our town and community.”

Stewart was told of the complaint, per protocol, and went to Padilla’s home on Jan. 11 to talk to her about it, the Post said, citing a police report.

Padilla ultimately called 911 after allegedly hearing a “loud banging on her side door” and opened it to find what she described as an “angry” Stewart, the report said. She reportedly shut and locked her door and claimed to hear the door knob rattle “as if someone was trying to enter her home.”

Stewart told authorities that he did go to Padilla’s home but only knocked on the door, the police report said. He claimed that she shut the door upon seeing him and the pair never actually spoke. He maintained that he “never attempted to gain entry into the home” and ultimately left, the police report said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.