In its previous, pre-pandemic incarnation, the city’s Ethics Review Commission met in a back room of City Hall that was often jammed full of commissioners, accusers, defenders, and occasionally, reporters. But the meetings were open to the public, and once inside that awkward, cramped room, it was easy enough to figure out what was happening. […]
City of Austin Ethics Review Commission
The Ethics Review Commission is charged with review of, among other issues, ethics complaints leveled against City of Austin boards and commission members. They meet quarterly.
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics commission discusses transparency in unbroadcast meeting
As Covid-19 has pushed city meetings online, questions about public participation have taken center stage, with community members and commissioners alike struggling with cumbersome web platforms and long waiting times on phone lines. The topic came before the Ethics Review Commission on Aug. 12 for discussion. But it was only on Aug. 21 that the conversation […]
Posted inCity Hall
Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison receives reprimand for campaign finance violations
Six months after midyear campaign finance reports revealed that Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison violated fundraising laws, the Ethics Review Commission voted to send the Council member a letter of admonition. Harper-Madison collected $3,695 in campaign funds between January and March of this year. As Council members are prohibited from raising money outside a one-year window […]
Posted inElections
Unconventional Austin campaign finance violation moves to final hearing but could still be withdrawn
November elections have come and gone, but the Ethics Review Commission is still dealing with the ripple effects caused by a purported violation of campaign finance laws. Political consultant Mark Littlefield filed a complaint in late October alleging that Unconventional Austin, a political action committee that advocated for Proposition B, broke the law when it […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics commission may seek ‘more teeth’ in code to curb violations
The city’s Ethics Review Commission may ask City Council to increase the penalties it can levy for violations of city code and to add more teeth to the city’s laws concerning campaign finance. The commission voted 8-0 at last week’s meeting, with Raafia Lari abstaining, to form two working groups that will examine how the […]
Posted inReporters' Notebook
Reporter’s Notebook: Ethics, at a cost
Frank Rodriguez case costs city… After the Ethics Review Commission failed to agree upon a settlement in the case against Frank Rodriguez last May, the case came back before the commission for a final hearing last week. Rodriguez had received $37,000 for consulting services from the Latino HealthCare Forum and used his position to help […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics Review Commission finds Frank Rodriguez in violation of city ethics rules
Justice has been a long time coming in the case concerning Frank Rodriguez’s continued ties to Latino Healthcare Forum, a nonprofit he founded while serving as a senior policy adviser to Mayor Steve Adler. After the Ethics Review Commission chose not to accept a settlement agreement presented by both parties last month, commissioners heard the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ethics commission finds Prop J PAC violated campaign finance laws
After hours of politically caustic testimony, the Ethics Review Commission found at its May 8 meeting that the No on Prop J political action committee had violated city ethics codes by failing to disclose a $10,000 donation in a timely manner. The case, which came before the commission in March, was filed by Fred Lewis, […]
Posted inUncategorized
Rodriguez case fails to find agreeable settlement
In a novel solution, the Office of the City Auditor and Frank Rodriguez presented a settlement agreement to the Ethics Review Commission at what should have been the final hearing on the case May 8. However, ethics commissioners felt the settlement proposal undermined their duty to provide the public with transparency in cases and declined […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics commission loses some duties
Austin’s Ethics Review Commission will no longer be looking at allegations of ethics violations related to most city employees. On Thursday, City Council approved changes to the ordinance governing the commission’s authority after ensuring that reports about such allegations would eventually become public. Mayor Steve Adler proposed the changes after Human Resources Department Director Joya […]
Posted inCity Hall
Ethics violation raises questions about city laptop policies
DeShawn Scott, a temporary administrative specialist in the Public Works Department, left his position in December after the Office of the City Auditor opened an investigation into Scott’s use of his city computer for purposes related to his two outside businesses: Texas Go Freezee, a shaved ice stand, and Taco Sweets, a truck that offers […]
Posted inElections
Ethics Commission looks into omission of PAC donation
How does one forget to report $10,000? That was the question of the evening for the Ethics Review Commission at its March 13 convocation. In a complaint filed by Fred Lewis last November, he accused the No on J political action committee of failing to report its largest and most controversial contribution from the Real […]