By Edmond Ortiz
Eight San Antonio City Council members voted Feb. 27 to officially censure Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones for violating the city’s code of conduct and workplace anti-harassment policy.
What you should know
The reprimand comes less than one month after a widely reported Feb. 5 argument between Jones and District 1 Councilmember Sukh Kaur outside of City Council chambers over the city’s efforts to get owners at the Bonham Exchange nightclub to comply with local fire codes.
Kaur filed a complaint Feb. 9 against Jones, accusing the mayor of using “abusive language and intimidating behavior” during a confrontation in a council break room, according to the Feb. 27 meeting agenda item.
The complaint triggered an investigation by the city attorney’s office, and on Feb. 9, five council members submitted a memo, seeking to hold a special council meeting to censure Jones upon the end of the internal investigation.
“Based on the findings of the investigation and prior inappropriate behavior, the City Council wants to consider a resolution censuring Mayor Jones’ action,” the meeting agenda item stated.
The now-approved resolution directs Jones to issue a written apology to Kaur even though the mayor held a press conference earlier in the week, saying she was sorry that Kaur’s feelings were hurt as a result of their confrontation.
The resolution also asks Jones to participate in in-person leadership training, which would address civility, deescalation-conflict resolution, and effective workplace interactions. Additionally, Jones is being asked to temporarily step down as chair of the City Council Governance Committee or until she has finished the aforementioned training.
The Feb. 27 council vote is the first time that San Antonio’s top elected body has formally censured the mayor since the establishment of the city charter more than 70 years ago. Then-Mayor Walter McAllister faced a censure vote in 1970 over controversial comments he had offered in a nationally televised interview.
This is the fifth time in a four-year span that council members have formally rebuked one of their own. Council held a no-confidence vote on Clayton Perry after he was arrested for driving under the influence in 2022. The same year, council censured and held a no-confidence vote on Mario Bravo for violating workplace policies.
Current District 10 Councilmember Marc Whyte was censured in 2024 after his DUI arrest; current District 8 Councilmember Ivalis Meza Gonzalez was censured last September following her DUI arrest.
What they are saying
Kaur was absent from the censure vote. Jones recused herself from the censure vote, but not before issuing a statement that echoed recent public remarks where she acknowledged the Feb. 5 interaction with Kaur, and that emotions heightened in a break room debate over public safety got the best of her.
“I should not have raised my voice at my colleague, and I should not have used profanity. I apologize for doing so,” she added.
Jones said, given the directions laid out in the resolution, she has already shared a written apology with Kaur, and that she would relinquish her governance committee chair role until her training is complete.
“As a servant leader, I learned a long time ago that no one is above additional training. We can all learn more, and we can all be better,” Jones said.
“I sincerely hope we can move past this, and I look forward to working with each of you to better our city,” she added.
Some audience members said council’s decision to censure Jones was much ado about nothing, and that local leaders should work together and focus on larger issues affecting the city.
District 9 Councilmember Misty Spears cast the lone dissenting vote, saying Jones’ actions, while worthy of criticism, did not rise to the level of a formal reprimand.
Other council members said that rebuking Jones is necessary as a means of reminding the mayor about the proper conduct that is expected from the city’s top elected leader.
“We will no longer tolerate poor behavior by the mayor,” District 7 Councilmember Marina Aldrete Gavito said.
District 5 Councilmember Teri Castillo chastised Jones for seemingly missing the point of the claims that fellow elected leaders and others have made about the mayor’s particular style of engagement.
This is about conduct violating the code of conduct and administrative directives directly related to harassment and violence in the workplace. This is about a pattern of workplace violence and harassment,” she added.
