A Cal State Bakersfield administrator has filed a complaint with police alleging that state Sen. Dean Florez threatened to ruin his professional career because he spoke critically of the senator.
Assistant to the CSUB President Thomas Martinez said that Florez, D-Shafter, called him at the university on the morning of Feb. 12 and said he was going to start an investigation on Martinez.

"He stated 'I am putting you on notice that I am beginning an investigation on you. I will find out who you are, what you say and what you do.' I clearly took this as a personal threat," Martinez wrote in a letter to the Senate Ethics Committee and law enforcement agencies.

Martinez also wrote that Florez reminded him that he was a state employee and told him, "Be aware as I do my work on the state budget, I will keep in mind what you say about me and what you do when I am making decisions on funding for Cal State."

Florez denied what he called "baseless" allegations in a prepared statement. His spokeswoman Jennifer Hanson said Thursday that Florez was traveling and unavailable for interview.

"I do take comfort in knowing we have people in the state senate to protect us when these types come out of the woodwork," said Florez in the statement.

Cal State Bakersfield Spokesman Mike Stepanovich said the complaint, filed on Feb. 12, had been reviewed by the campus police department.

"We're not going to do anything. We've taken it as information only," Stepanovich said. "We've talked to our attorneys and determined that no crime was committed."

Stepanovich said Martinez's allegations were made on his own time and off campus.

"Dr. Martinez is a respected member of our faculty and enjoys the esteem of his colleagues," Stepanovich said. "He has every right to do what he did, but that's between him and Senator Florez."

In a letter to the editor published Tuesday in the The Californian, Martinez wrote praise for Kern County Supervisor Pete Parra and criticized Michael Rubio, who is an ally of Florez. Parra and Rubio are in a bitter battle for the supervisor seat.

The Californian received the letter on Feb. 3, more than a week before the alleged call by Florez.

Martinez said he didn't believe his support of Parra is what prompted the alleged threats. Martinez said he has been critical of Florez for demanding audits of public agencies. Martinez said the audits were a Florez tactic to make political gains.

And according to the complaint to police, Martinez said he was accused of "bad mouthing" Florez and talking to the senator's relatives.

"We have here a case of a powerful public official threatening a private citizen because he expressed his personal, professional or political views," Martinez said in a news conference he held next to the Liberty Bell on Truxtun Avenue on Thursday.

Martinez said he also filed complaints with the Kern district attorney's office, the state Attorney General's office and the FBI.

"Someone should tell Mr. Martinez he forgot to CC the president of the United States. Beyond that, I'm not going to waste my time and energy responding to a baseless allegation," Florez wrote in his statement.

Kern Deputy District Attorney John Somers said he had not yet seen the complaint. But Somers said as a general rule the district attorney's office doesn't file charges unless a law enforcement agency, such as a police department, files a complaint seeking charges.