SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio City Council formally reprimanded Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones on Friday following a complaint and investigation about her behavior.
According to the San Antonio Express-News, Jones is now “the first San Antonio mayor in modern history” to be censured in an 8-1 vote.
District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur filed the complaint in early February, saying Jones yelled and cursed at her in a staff area after a council meeting. The pair held conflicting views on gay nightclub Bonham Exchange and its failure to install fire sprinklers by an October 2023 deadline.
Jones wanted the club to slice occupancy in half until it installed sprinklers, while Kaur supported a resolution that would give the establishment until February 2027 without adjusting occupancy. Jones reportedly pressured Bonham Exchange’s general manager and co-owner into accepting the reduced occupancy.
According to the Express-News, Jones, who is the city’s first openly gay mayor, said Friday that she “became passionate” during her exchange with Kaur “because I firmly believe public safety is our number one responsibility.”
“As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, we have seen too many tragedies at LGBTQ+ establishments, and I could not — would not — unnecessarily place the lives of patrons, employees, and potentially firefighters in harm’s way,” Jones said.
The censure resolution called Jones’ actions toward Kaur “verbally abusive” and mentioned prior incidents with others, according to the Express-News.
“As I have previously shared, I have already shared with Councilwoman Kaur a written apology, and earlier this week, I shared a public apology,” Jones said. “Again, this morning, Councilwoman Kaur, I apologize.”
In a post-vote press conference, Kaur said Jones has tried to downplay her behavior.
“The mayor has tried to diminish this instance by saying it was a single F-bomb that was thrown,” Kaur said. “It is very different to use the curse word as an adjective versus to use it to continuously berate someone and intimidate them.”