OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

San Antonio City Council Censures Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones on February 27, 2026

City Council — Friday, February 27, 2026
BodySan Antonio, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateFriday, February 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:22:05

Transcript — Verbatim
0:43

Good morning.

0:44

The time is now 1010 AM on February 27, 2026, and the meeting of the San Antonio City Council is now called to order.

0:52

Madam Clerk, please call roll.

0:54

Councilmember Corps.

0:56

Councilmember Mickey Rodriguez.

0:58

Present.

0:58

Councilmember Via Gran.

1:00

Here.

1:01

Councilmember Mungia.

1:03

Councilmember Castillo.

1:04

Here.

1:04

Councilmember Galvan.

1:06

Here.

1:06

Councilmember Alderete Gavito.

1:08

Here.

1:08

Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez.

1:10

Present.

1:11

Councilmember Spears.

1:13

Councilmember White.

1:14

Mayor Jones.

1:15

Here.

1:15

Mayor, we have court.

1:16

Great.

1:16

Thank you, Madam President.

1:21

Okay, I will make a short statement.

1:25

Colleagues, good morning.

1:28

The morning of February 5th, 2026, we were discussing a public safety issue.

1:34

And I was squarely on the side of the fire chief.

1:38

The fire chief determined the occupancy of the Bonham Exchange needed to be reduced in the interest of public safety.

1:48

And frankly, that was all I needed to hear.

1:52

As the mayor, the chief elected officer of this city, I take seriously our responsibility to keep our community safe.

2:03

That is in fact our number one responsibility.

2:09

As a member of the LGBTQ Plus community, we have seen too many tragedies at LGBTQ plus establishments.

2:20

And I could not, would not, would not unnecessarily place the lives of patrons, employees, and potentially our firefighters in harm's way.

3:12

Additionally, I will participate in in-person leadership training next week.

3:17

As a servant leader, I learned a long time ago that no one is above additional training.

3:25

We can all learn more, and we can all be better.

3:30

When the date and time of that training is finalized, I will share those, and I invite each of you to join me.

3:37

As I have previously shared, I have already shared with Councilwoman Corps a written apology, and earlier this week I shared a public apology.

3:45

I thought she'd be here this morning.

3:47

I was gonna share again uh my apologies to the councilwoman.

3:51

I sincerely hope we can move past this, and I look forward to working with each of you to better our city.

4:02

I'm recusing myself uh for the remainder of the meeting, and Mayor Pro Tem will take the chair.

4:21

Thank you, Mayor Jones.

4:22

The time is now ten fourteen a.m.

4:24

and the city council will now meet in executive session to consult with the city attorney's office according to in accordance with Texas Government Code Section 551.071.

4:36

The time is now ten thirty-five a.m.

4:38

and the city council will reconvene in open session.

4:41

No official action was taken in executive session.

4:43

Uh Madam Clerk, please read the caption for item one.

5:03

Item one is a resolution of the city council of the city of San Antonio, Texas, centering Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones' actions.

5:10

Thank you.

5:11

Let's have the presentation.

5:19

If you don't mind uh Mayor Pro Tem, I'll I'll present the presentation from here.

5:23

That's perfectly fine.

5:24

Thank you.

5:28

So real quickly, uh Mayor Pro Tem and Council, just to provide a timeline of what the uh council is considering this morning.

5:35

On February 5th, 2026, during an A session, there was an exchange between Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and Councilwoman Sue Korr in the council break room uh related to an item that was on the agenda.

5:48

Uh by uh by all accounts, it was it was a pretty heated exchange.

5:53

On February 9th, 2026, Councilwoman Corps submitted a formal complaint under our city council code of conduct, and that on under the process that was submitted to Eric Walsh and myself uh on the same day, five council members submitted a memo asking for a meeting to consider censure after the investigation was complete.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Harassment And Workplace Conduct██████████████████████████████████████████42%
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████33%
Government Structure█████████9%
Municipal Regulations██████6%
Legal Procedure███3%
Immigration Policy██2%
Public Engagement██2%
Economic Development██2%
LGBTQ Rights█1%
Summary of Proceedings

San Antonio City Council Censures Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones on February 27, 2026

On February 27, 2026, the San Antonio City Council met to consider a censure resolution against Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones following an independent investigation into a verbal exchange with Councilwoman Sue Corr that occurred on February 5, 2026. The investigation found that Mayor Jones violated the city's code of conduct, equal employment opportunity/anti-harassment policy, and workplace violence directive. After public testimony and council debate, the council voted to approve the censure resolution. Mayor Jones recused herself from the meeting after making a brief opening statement.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Lauren Levy Hughes: Opposed censure, stating she supported Mayor Jones and urged council to focus on urgent issues like ICE detention centers.
  • Antonio Diaz: Opposed censure, calling it "ridiculous" and a distraction from federal-level threats; argued the incident should have been handled privately.
  • Diana Flores Uriegas: Expressed opposition to censure through song lyrics.
  • Mario Bravo (former councilmember): Criticized the investigative process, citing his own censure experience; called the process broken and lacking due process, but did not weigh in on Mayor Jones' specific actions.
  • Michelle Losalice (Bexar County Democratic Party Chair): Strongly opposed censure, urging council to focus on pressing issues like ICE detention centers, data centers, and federal cuts.
  • Jacqueline Alderete Tacarante: Opposed censure, arguing public safety regulations should not be flexible and that the council should focus on collaboration.
  • Molly: Opposed censure, criticizing the council for pursuing censure over public safety concerns with the Bonham Exchange.
  • Leticia Vela: No specific position recorded; spoke briefly.
  • Christian Carranza: Supported Mayor Jones, describing her as principled and courageous; urged council to move forward.

Discussion Items

  • Presentation by City Attorney Andy Segovia: Provided a timeline: the incident occurred on February 5, 2026; Councilwoman Corr filed a formal complaint on February 9, 2026; an independent investigation was conducted by attorney Natalie C. Rugi, and the council was briefed on February 23, 2026. The investigation found Mayor Jones was "verbally abusive" and violated the code of conduct, administrative directive 4.67 (equal employment opportunity/anti-harassment), and administrative directive 4.80 (violence in the workplace).
  • Councilmember Comments:
    • Councilmember Castillo: Supported censure, citing a pattern of unprofessional behavior and retaliation; stated she would not have endorsed Mayor Jones if she had known.
    • Councilmember Galvan: Supported censure, emphasizing the need for respect and accountability.
    • Councilmember White: Supported censure, calling for a reset and collaboration; listed five priority issues: public safety, infrastructure, affordability, economic opportunity, and utility rates.
    • Councilmember Spears: Opposed censure, stating the conduct was inappropriate but did not rise to the level of censure or workplace violence; raised concerns about due process and transparency in the investigation.
    • Councilmember Alderete Gavito: Supported censure, emphasizing that respect is not optional and that the culture tolerated is the culture created.
    • Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez: Supported censure, noting accountability creates space for growth and reconciliation.
    • Councilmember Mungia: Supported censure, calling it a workplace issue that must be addressed; expressed optimism for the future.
    • Councilmember Via Gran: Supported censure, emphasizing the council-manager form of government and the need for collaboration and professionalism.
    • Mayor Pro Tem (presiding): Supported censure, stating that both extraordinary leadership and crossing a line can be true; emphasized accountability over intention.

Key Outcomes

  • The council voted to approve the censure resolution (vote tally not specified in transcript, but multiple councilmembers stated support; Councilmember Spears voted no).
  • The resolution censures Mayor Jones and includes steps for remediation, which Councilmember Castillo described as necessary to prevent further misconduct.
  • Mayor Jones was recused from the remainder of the meeting. The council then adjourned after the vote.
  • No other agenda items were discussed.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning. The time is now 1010 AM on February 27, 2026, and the meeting of the San Antonio City Council is now called to order. Madam Clerk, please call roll. Councilmember Corps. Councilmember Mickey Rodriguez. Present. Councilmember Via Gran. Here. Councilmember Mungia. Councilmember Castillo. Here. Councilmember Galvan. Here. Councilmember Alderete Gavito. Here. Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez. Present. Councilmember Spears. Councilmember White. Mayor Jones. Here. Mayor, we have court. Great. Thank you, Madam President. Okay, I will make a short statement. Colleagues, good morning. The morning of February 5th, 2026, we were discussing a public safety issue. And I was squarely on the side of the fire chief. The fire chief determined the occupancy of the Bonham Exchange needed to be reduced in the interest of public safety. And frankly, that was all I needed to hear. As the mayor, the chief elected officer of this city, I take seriously our responsibility to keep our community safe. That is in fact our number one responsibility. As a member of the LGBTQ Plus community, we have seen too many tragedies at LGBTQ plus establishments. And I could not, would not, would not unnecessarily place the lives of patrons, employees, and potentially our firefighters in harm's way. Additionally, I will participate in in-person leadership training next week. 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. When the date and time of that training is finalized, I will share those, and I invite each of you to join me. As I have previously shared, I have already shared with Councilwoman Corps a written apology, and earlier this week I shared a public apology. I thought she'd be here this morning. I was gonna share again uh my apologies to the councilwoman. I sincerely hope we can move past this, and I look forward to working with each of you to better our city. I'm recusing myself uh for the remainder of the meeting, and Mayor Pro Tem will take the chair. Thank you, Mayor Jones. The time is now ten fourteen a.m. and the city council will now meet in executive session to consult with the city attorney's office according to in accordance with Texas Government Code Section 551.071. The time is now ten thirty-five a.m. and the city council will reconvene in open session. No official action was taken in executive session. Uh Madam Clerk, please read the caption for item one.

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