Ethics

Following Recent Ethics Questions, City Council Votes To Raise Standards

Ryan Loyd — Fri, 10 May 2013 19:34:12 +0000

New ethics standards are on their way to San Antonio City Hall as the city council voted to add changes to the ethics code after several recent incidents cast a shadow of doubt on city leaders.

The most recent incident was over the vote for a new District 9 library, which was located next to Councilwoman Elisa Chan’s North Side business.

At the time, city staffers working on the project knew the library and Chan’s business, Unitech, were bordering each other, but said nothing to the city council on the matter.

Proposed Changes To City Ethics Code Shaking Up City Council

Ryan Loyd — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 21:04:08 +0000

San Antonio City Attorney Michael Bernard has proposed changes to the city's ethics code and some council members would like time to review the proposed changes.

As of right now, city council is expected to vote on the changes in early May.

Among the most drastic recommended changes to the city's ethics code is adding a compliance officer to be hired by the city manager.

Bernard said that takes the burden off him because, as he told the city council, it's hard to be the lawyer and the client.

The Source: Ethics In Every Decision At City Hall

Paul Flahive — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:19:33 +0000

In The First Segment:

Art Downey, chairman of the Ethics Review Board, and Brian Chasnoff, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, join us to talk about the continuing role of ethics in decisions made at City Hall.

After the latest incident, this one involving District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan, San Antonio residents want to know what the city plans to do about the culture at City Hall.

Council Postpones Library Vote To Consider Bigger Ethical Issue

Ryan Loyd — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:12:41 +0000

The San Antonio City Council followed the lead of District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal Thursday to hold off on a vote about a proposed library branch on the city’s north side.

The 10 members and Mayor Julián Castro initially voted to approve the project at its April 4 meeting, but District 9 Councilwoman Elisa Chan, who represents the district where the library is proposed, asked for the item to be brought back to council. This time she recused herself from the process.

Updated: Chan Recuses Herself From New Vote On Northside Library Location

Ryan Loyd — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:23:19 +0000

(Updated: 4/10/13 1:20 p.m.) Following some discussion, city council has postponed the vote on the library location until May.

District 1 Councilman Diego Bernal admonished city staffers, who knew the library location was next to Chan's business.

Chan gave an emotional statement before the council before leaving the dais so the rest of city council could discuss and decide on the issue.

Questions About Ethics Board Methodology Following Letter Of Admonition To Taylor

Ryan Loyd — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:59:58 +0000

The City of San Antonio's Ethics Review Board has decided it will issue District 2 Councilwoman Ivy Taylor a letter of admonition for not correcting incomplete or inaccurate campaign finance reports on time.

Ethics Board Rules On DiGiovanni Case, Issues Admonition Letter

Ryan Loyd — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:35:33 +0000

San Antonio’s Ethics Review Board met Tuesday night, more than a week after it attempted to settle an ongoing citizen complaint against former Deputy City Manager Pat DiGiovanni.

The problem for the board was that it did not have a quorum, an issue that chair Arthur Downey said hadn’t happened in more than a decade, in his experience.

Banned From City Hall

David Martin Davies — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 20:42:40 +0000

The public square is the cornerstone of democracy. The concept is that anyone can hop on a metaphorical soapbox and air their grievances about the government.

But what does it take to be banned from the public square in San Antonio?

It’s happening to two local residents who are being shunned by their elected representatives. John Foddrill and Michael Cuellar are two separate cases but with some suspicious common factors. Both men are former city employees who say that while on the job they found evidence of fraud or waste in city government.

Texas Legislature Opens & A Billonaire Gets Busted (Sort Of)

David Martin Davies — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:51:35 +0000

Texas Matters: It's finally here! The 83rd Texas Legislature will be sworn in and start on Tuesday, Jan. 8. Political Action Committees, or Super PACs as they came to be so heroically known in last year's election, enjoyed fairly easy regulations on both organization and donations. However, there are rules and stiff penalties if you break them; one Texas billionaire was caught and fined a shocking $6,450!

Ethics Board Finds DiGiovanni Violated Code

Ryan Loyd — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:52:55 +0000

In a unanimous ruling Tuesday night, the Ethics Review Board found that Deputy City Manager Pat DiGiovanni violated the city's ethics code when he failed to recuse himself from a conflict of interest involving a city contract and his future employer.

Earlier this year, DiGiovanni took on oversight of the selection process for contractors in a $300 million bid to expand and renovate the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.