Tag Archives: City of Austin Ethics Review Commission
Changes to city lobbying rules OK'd by Ethics Review Commission
The Ethics Review Commission has given its OK to a series of amendments to the city’s lobbying regulations. The changes are set to be voted on by City Council on March 23. The city clerk’s office suggested them to clarify…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Mar 6, 2023
Ethics commission sends Ellis letter on campaign finance violations
The city’s Ethics Review Commission has issued a letter of notification to City Council Member Paige Ellis, documenting a handful of campaign contributions that exceeded campaign finance rules and were not returned to donors in a timely fashion. Last week…
Elections • By Chad Swiatecki • Dec 21, 2022
Ethics commission notifies D8 candidate of campaign materials violation
The Ethics Review Commission will file a letter of notification for a City Council candidate who neglected to put required disclaimers on some of his campaign materials. At last week’s meeting, the commission held the preliminary hearing for the complaint…
Elections • By Chad Swiatecki • Nov 1, 2022
Ethics commission shelves lobbying complaint against Austin Pets Alive! employee
The Ethics Review Commission has opted not to move forward with a lobbying complaint against a member of the city’s Animal Advisory Commission who also works in a governmental affairs job for Austin Pets Alive. Last week the ethics commission…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Oct 3, 2022
Ethics commission dismisses complaint over Adler's real estate disclosures
The city’s Ethics Review Commission has voted to dismiss a complaint against Mayor Steve Adler related to information disclosed on personal financial forms about his real estate holdings in recent years. The complaint, brought by former real estate broker Loree…
City Council • By Chad Swiatecki • Apr 4, 2022
Rodriguez pleads guilty to misuse of federal funds, falsifying records
Frank Rodriguez, who served as a senior policy adviser to Mayor Steve Adler beginning in 2015, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to misapply federal funds and falsifying records “with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence an investigation into a…
City Hall • By Jo Clifton • Jan 12, 2022
Subscribe to our newsletter
Ethics commission wants to make it easier to file complaints
At its monthly meeting Wednesday night, the Ethics Review Commission discussed a number of moving pieces it has in the works, including an easier-to-navigate complaint form for reporting suspected ethics violations, and a media piece explaining the commission’s function to the…
City Hall • By Willow Higgins • Nov 3, 2021
Ethics commission dismisses claim of improper fundraising
The Ethics Review Commission has dismissed a complaint alleging that Otto Swingler, a self-described “concerned citizen” who made a GoFundMe page in support of Proposition B, violated campaign finance law. The commission ruled Wednesday that Swingler, who had intended to…
Local Politics • By Jonathan Lee • Jul 16, 2021
Complaint against Harper-Madison ruled out of ethics commission's jurisdiction
Ethics violations against Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison were found to be outside the purview of the city’s Ethics Review Commission last week, marking the second time in two months the commission has failed to move forward with a complaint…
City Hall • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 15, 2021
Settlement leads to dismissal of Ethics Review case against Save Austin Now
The Ethics Review Commission voted last week to dismiss the complaint pursued for eight months against the Save Austin Now nonprofit, after the initial complainant withdrew his charge as part of a settlement agreement he reached with the group. Political…
Local Politics • By Chad Swiatecki • Jun 14, 2021
Ethics commissioners dismiss complaint against Harper-Madison
An ethics complaint against Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison was automatically dismissed Wednesday, May 12, after the Ethics Review Commission failed to reach a majority six votes on a motion to postpone or a separate motion to dismiss. The latter…
City Hall • By Elizabeth Pagano • May 20, 2021
Save Austin Now works ethics commissioners' last nerve
The nonprofit that launched the successful campaign to recriminalize behavior related to homelessness in the May 1 election has again tried the patience of the Ethics Review Commission, which on Wednesday voted to postpone a final hearing on a complaint…
