{"id":471363,"date":"2026-10-20T07:24:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T07:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/471363\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T07:24:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T07:24:30","slug":"el-paso-candidate-claimed-no-legal-issues-records-show-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/471363\/","title":{"rendered":"El Paso candidate claimed ‘no legal issues.’ Records show charge"},"content":{"rendered":"

A candidate for El Paso City Council said he had “no legal issues” to divulge in his El Paso Times<\/a> candidate questionnaire,<\/a> despite having previously been charged with public indecency.<\/p>\n

Matthew Kozik, an attorney running for the District 1 seat, <\/a>was charged with public indecency in a case that resulted in a warrant enforced June 18, 2003. Fellow candidate Daniela Garcia brought the charge to the media’s attention in a news release Monday, Oct. 19.<\/p>\n

Kozik did not respond to a request for comment on the charge by publication time.<\/p>\n

El Paso 2026 voter guide: Where candidates stand before Nov. 3<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Matthew<\/p>\n

Matthew James Kozik, City Council District 1 candidate.<\/p>\n

“This is an example of ‘boys will be boys’ mentality that has paved our current political landscape, welcoming former boys that got away with a slap on the wrist to become men that run our governments,” Garcia wrote in the news release. “Matthew J. Kozik has been able to sweep a criminal sex offense away with a small fine, move across the country, and attempts to start his political career by representing the people of El Paso.”<\/p>\n

The revelation comes only weeks before El Paso voters head to the ballot box for the Nov. 3 general election. District 1 covers El Paso’s West Side, stretching along the Franklin Mountains from Upper Mesa Hills to Anthony, New Mexico, and across from Desert Hills Boulevard to Santa Teresa, New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Documents from the Franklin County Municipal Court<\/a> in Ohio show that Kozik was charged with Public Indecency on April 15, 2003, and a warrant was issued for enforcement on June 18, 2003. It is unclear what actions led to the charge, but penalties for public indecency in Ohio range from a fourth-degree misdemeanor, resulting in up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine, to a first-degree misdemeanor or a fifth-degree felony if a child is involved.<\/p>\n

More: Meet 4 candidates running for El Paso City Council District 1<\/a><\/p>\n

Kozik’s charge was later amended to disorderly conduct and he was forced to pay $169 in total fines, clearing the way for the charge to be kept off his public record. The warrant was canceled on Sept. 15, 2003.<\/p>\n

Kozik and Garcia, along with Sam Armijo, are the three candidates looking to unseat incumbent city Rep. Alejandra Chavez in the Nov. 3 General Election.<\/p>\n

Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso candidate claimed ‘no legal issues.’ Records show charge<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A candidate for El Paso City Council said he had “no legal issues” to divulge in his El…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-471363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}