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Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones strikes a pose during a photo shoot around the time she took office. Credit: Courtesy Photo \/ Gina for Mayor<\/p>\nMayor Gina Ortiz Jones strikes a pose during a photo shoot around the time she took office. Credit: Courtesy Photo \/ Gina for Mayor<\/p>\n
On Friday, San Antonio City Council will decide whether to censure Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones \u2014 a move unprecedented in our city\u2019s modern area. <\/p>\n
There\u2019s just one problem: Except for members of council and witnesses inside the room, nobody knows what Jones said to District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur to elicit council\u2019s possible rebuke. <\/p>\n
The pair\u2019s heated discussion raised concern among some on the dais that the mayor crossed an ethical line. However, that\u2019s hard for the public to fully grasp, since the conversation took place in private earlier this month. And if council moves forward without disclosing details about Jones\u2019 words and actions, they risk losing credibility.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we do know.<\/p>\n
Jones and Kaur had a private exchange Feb. 5 during which they clashed about how to handle LGBTQ+ nightspot the Bonham Exchange\u2019s failure to meet fire code.<\/p>\n
Kaur \u2014\u00a0along with District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez and District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo \u2014 filed a memo<\/a> to discuss giving the club an extension to install a new sprinkler system \u2014\u00a0something the business was supposed to do three years ago, per a code update. <\/p>\n However, concerned about putting public safety at risk, Jones and the City Attorney\u2019s Office cut their own deal with Bonham owner Joan Duckworth. That agreement kept the club open<\/a>, but with reduced capacity, until the upgraded sprinkler system is installed.<\/p>\n Jones acknowledged on two separate occasions<\/a> this week that she raised her voice, used expletives and pointed her finger at Kaur during the argument. And, according to her account, anyway, the public is on her side.<\/p>\n Even former council members Greg Brockhouse and Mario Bravo \u2014\u00a0the latter of whom was censured by council for an outburst at a colleague \u2014 took to Facebook this week to raise concerns over Jones\u2019 censure.<\/p>\n \u201cMayor OJ didn\u2019t publicly torch her,\u201d Brockhouse wrote<\/a>. \u201cNo hallway ambush. No press conference meltdown. Just a heated exchange \u2014 which, newsflash, happens when adults debate issues. How about we skip the theater and get back to the actual work?\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Bravo described the censure<\/a> and the process surrounding it as a \u201cpolitical hit job.\u201d<\/p>\n But is there more to the story?<\/p>\n McKee-Rodriguez, once among Jones\u2019 few public allies on council, was busy on Facebook this week as well. He used his time to question the mayor\u2019s retelling of the exchange and maintain that she did much more<\/a> than lob a couple of F-bombs.<\/p>\n \u201cI have no reason to be anything but impartial on this issue,\u201d McKee-Rodriguez said, addressing one commenter. \u201cI am also not one to clutch my pearls over a little cussing or a raised voice. I\u2019ve had many cussing matches with my colleagues and I\u2019ve even told a couple to watch their fucking mouth when they\u2019re speaking to me lol. What we learned today was well beyond yelling or saying fuck, and that makes the difference to me tbh.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, what McKee-Rodriguez said he learned came from an independent, third-party attorney who conducted an investigation into the dispute and found Jones violated the council\u2019s code of conduct, specifically a section that addresses workplace violence. <\/p>\n A credible City Hall source close to the matter this week told the Current<\/a> that Jones threatened Kaur during the argument \u2014 although the person declined to specify whether the threat was physical, professional or something more nebulous.<\/p>\n So, what really happened between Jones and Kaur? We, the public, may never know, since the investigation\u2019s findings are under wraps due to attorney-client privilege. In this case, the client is the \u201cCity through City Council,\u201d San Antonio government spokesman Brian Chasnoff told the Current.<\/p>\n In other words, council could release the details of the investigation if they wanted to. <\/p>\n And they should.<\/p>\n The public has the right to know why Jones is being censured. And, if Jones really did threaten Kaur, then why not release the files? It\u2019s not like a majority of council is in Jones\u2019 corner, anyway.<\/p>\n And if the conversation didn\u2019t unfold in the way Jones has publicly stated, it would raise concerns about her ability to be truthful to constituents. She would then face the political blowback, however serious. <\/p>\n But if members of council don\u2019t release the investigation\u2019s findings, they look like the ones who have something to hide.<\/p>\n Of course, council could be trying to signal their disapproval of Jones while simultaneously protecting her by not releasing the findings. However, if that\u2019s the case, it sure looks like the kind of backroom politics voters are eager to leave behind. <\/p>\n The public knew all the details<\/a> about Councilman Marc Whyte\u2019s DWI arrest, and knew too many details about former Councilman Clayton Perry\u2019s drunk driving incident<\/a> when two of them were separately censured. Why is this time any different?<\/p>\n Voters already have a healthy distrust of local government, and rightfully so. If council withholds the exact reasoning for Friday\u2019s censure vote, then all it does is confirm suspicions that City Hall is no more transparent than a black hole.<\/p>\n In the words of UT-San Antonio political scientist Jon Taylor: \u201cThe public may have the memory of a goldfish. But there\u2019s one person in town that doesn\u2019t forget \u2014 and that\u2019s the mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n Council faces a choice: release the files, or deal with the political fallout.<\/p>\n Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Apple News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>| Twitter<\/a>\u00a0| Or sign up for our\u00a0RSS Feed<\/a><\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\tDespite a third-party investigation finding Jones violated council\u2019s \u2018Violence in the Workplace\u2019 policy, the mayor denied making any threats toward colleague Sukh Kaur. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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