City officials have set a Friday meeting for council to vote on potentially reprimanding the first-term mayor.
SAN ANTONIO — Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones on Friday will become the first sitting San Antonio mayor to face a censure vote in decades after council members decided to move forward with considering a resolution that says her conduct is “not acceptable for an elected official and should not be tolerated.”
City Council met for a lengthy Monday meeting – most of it unfolding behind closed doors – to discuss the findings of an outside investigation into Jones’ conduct after Sukh Kaur, the District 1 representative on council, submitted a Code of Conduct complaint against the mayor. An ensuing memo submitted by five members of City Council cited “repeated instances of unprofessional conduct” and called for a possible censure vote pending the outcome of that probe.
The complaint itself, send by Kaur to City Manager Erik Walsh and City Attorney Andy Segovia on Feb. 9, is brief and describes in broad terms what happened inside a City Council break room the morning of Feb. 5.
Kaur claims Jones “used profanity, abusive language, and intimidating behavior directed at me and in close proximity to others in the room,” saying Walsh, Assistant City Manager John Peterek and Pat Wallace, Jones’ deputy chief of staff, were also present.
“I believe the behavior was of such serious nature and scope that it merits an independent investigation to determine whether the mayor violated the Code of Conduct,” Kaur wrote in the complaint. “Specifically the requires to treat others with respect and refrain from derogatory remarks, profanity or personal attacks.”
Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran previously told KENS 5 the incident involved Jones and Kaur discussing an agenda item regarding downtown’s Bonham Exchange and whether to allow the historic gay nightclub to remain open despite missing a deadline to install required fire sprinklers.
What’s at stake?
A censure is a formal and symbolic reprimand; it wouldn’t remove Jones from the office she has held for less than a year.
But censure votes are nonetheless rare moves for City Council to take. Only three times since 2000 has a sitting council member faced censure by their colleagues. Two were related to DWI cases involving council members; the other was for an outburst in council chambers.
No San Antonio mayor has been subjected to a censure vote since Walter W. McAllister in 1970. (That vote failed.)
But Jones’s first eight months as mayor have been frequently contentious, largely when it comes to votes on high-profile items, such as Project Marvel. Last summer also saw Jones sparring with members of council over changes she wanted to make to the policy proposal process—changes that largely didn’t end up going through.
The mayor is expected to hold a news conference Tuesday morning.
Jones won elected office for the first time last summer, having previously served as Air Force under secretary when she was appointed by then-President Joe Biden. The mayor said in a statement earlier this month that “it is no secret that I have disagreed with my colleagues at times about what is best for our city,” adding her “style of leadership is grounded in my lived experience.”
“That approach does not always align with the traditional templates of female leaders or my colleagues’ views,” Jones went on to say. “Still, I know we are all committed to engaging with dignity, respect, and compassion. I am disappointed that some of my colleagues felt this was a necessary step, but I hear their feedback and look forward to continuing to work with them to make San Antonio better.”
San Antonio City Council adopted its existing code of conduct in early 2024, when they voted to add it to the City Charter. It emphasizes creating a “safe and productive work environment” and mandates that council members should treat each other with respect, and refrain from “derogatory or harassing remarks or images” as well as personal attacks, verbal abuse or language implying harm.
This is a developing story.