Austin’s Ethics Review Commission opted last week not to advance a complaint filed by Tiffany Washington against Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison, ending a months-long process over allegations that Harper-Madison violated multiple provisions of the city’s ethics code. The complaint, filed in two parts earlier this year by Tiffany Washington, accused Harper-Madison of violating five sections […]
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
Complaint against former manager Garza fails at ethics commission
After a lengthy hearing which ended shortly after midnight last Thursday, the city’s Ethics Review Commission dismissed a complaint against former Interim City Manager Jesús Garza. A motion aimed at dismissing the complaint failed, as did a motion to move forward to a final hearing. As a result, the complaint was dismissed. Adam Materne, the […]
Posted inElections
Ethics commissioners vote to hear campaign finance complaints from D7 election
The Ethics Review Commission voted unanimously this week to advance two campaign finance complaints to final hearings, determining that there are reasonable grounds to believe that violations of the city’s campaign finance rules may have occurred during a recent City Council election. Both complaints were filed by local advocate Adam Haynes and center on activities […]
Posted inElections
Austin’s Ethics Review Commission dismisses complaints against Siegel and Faddis without prejudice
Two complaints about alleged campaign finance violations were dropped at a special called meeting of the city’s Ethics Review Commission, but they could be filed again in the future. Adam Haynes, a former member of the Planning Commission, filed the complaints, the first of which was against Mike Siegel, the recently elected City Council member […]
Posted inElections
Laine, Ganguly to see no penalties for ethics violations over election filings
The Ethics Review Commission found that two candidates in last year’s City Council elections violated the city’s financial disclosure requirements, but commissioners opted to not pursue penalties for either infraction. At Wednesday’s meeting, the commission held final hearings for two similar cases: a complaint filed by new District 10 Council Member Marc Duchen against his […]
Posted inElections
Ethics commission dismisses Watson and Greco cases and sets hearing on two other complaints
The city’s bruising election season comes to an end Saturday with a runoff in the District 7 City Council race, but the Ethics Review Commission’s work continues as it considers another round of the season’s ethics violation complaints. So far, the commission has dismissed two complaints and agreed to move forward with final hearings on […]
Posted inElections
Ethics complaint against Watson campaign still unsettled after hearing
The question of whether Mayor Kirk Watson’s reelection campaign violated the city’s campaign finance rules remained unsettled last week following a hearing before the Ethics Review Commission. The commission recessed shortly after 10 p.m. after deadlocking on one motion to dismiss the complaint and another to extend the meeting past 10 p.m. That left little […]
Posted inElections
Ethics complaints won’t be heard before Election Day
As voters flocked to the polls on the first day of early voting, the city’s Ethics Review Commission decided it would postpone considering complaints about Mayor Kirk Watson and challenger Doug Greco accepting more than the allowed amount from non-Austin residents. City code limits the amounts candidates can receive from non-city residents on the theory […]
Posted inElections
PACs raising funds for Watson, Greco, others
A political action committee supporting Mayor Kirk Watson has raised more than $238,000 but spent less than $2,900 so far, according to a report filed with Austin’s Office of the City Clerk. One of the major contributors to the Austin Leadership PAC is Brandywine Operating Partner, which donated $10,000 to the PAC. Brandywine has been […]
Posted inElections
In an unusual hearing, Ethics Commission advances complaints against Greco and Watson to next phase
Ethics complaints filed against mayoral candidate Doug Greco and incumbent Mayor Kirk Watson will move to a final hearing next month, but an anticipated court ruling could circumvent the proceedings. In a preliminary hearing Wednesday, the Ethics Review Commission determined there were reasonable grounds to believe that both Greco and Watson violated the city’s campaign […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Ethics Commission complaints allege Mayor Watson and challenger Doug Greco violated campaign finance laws
Incumbent Kirk Watson and challenger Doug Greco may soon hit a snag in their respective bids for mayor, with the Ethics Review Commission investigating claims that both broke the same campaign finance law. The complaints, filed by former Commissioner Betsy Greenberg, allege that the candidates exceeded the $46,000 limit on donations sourced from outside the […]
Posted inElections
Ethics complaint alleges mayoral candidates received too much money from outside the city
A former member of the city’s Ethics Review Commission, Betsy Greenberg, has filed ethics complaints against Mayor Kirk Watson and one of his challengers, Doug Greco. In her complaints, Greenberg alleges that both candidates collected more money from outside the city of Austin than is allowed under the city charter. The Austin Bulldog reported on […]