Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones apologizes but rejects censure terms
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Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones speaks to reporters on Tuesday. Photo: Megan Stringer/Axios
Facing censure, San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones apologized Tuesday for her behavior toward a councilmember — but said she would not accept some of the potential punishment her colleagues laid out.
Why it matters: No San Antonio mayor has been censured in recent history.
- The City Council choosing to take a vote on the reprimand expands the longstanding feud between Jones and some councilmembers.
Catch up quick: City Hall insiders have told the Express-News that Jones berated Councilmember Sukh Kaur earlier this month. That lead Kaur to file a complaint saying Jones "used profanity, abusive language, and intimidating behavior."
- The two were reportedly at odds over how to handle a fire sprinkler system that the Bonham Exchange was delinquent in installing.
- Jones has said she used profanity but she denied berating Kaur.
The latest: An independent investigation by a New Braunfels-based attorney found that Jones violated the council's code of conduct as well as city directives regarding violence in the workplace and anti-harassment, per the agenda memo for Friday.
- The city has not yet released a document outlining the investigation's full findings. Axios has requested a copy.
Zoom in: Censure is typically a symbolic move that does not carry punishment. However, the draft of the censure resolution the council will consider Friday calls for Jones to do a couple things if she is censured:
- Take in-person leadership training.
- Temporarily step aside as chair of the Governance Committee, the main policymaking arm of the council.
What they're saying: "I'm not doing that," Jones said Tuesday when reporters asked if she would relinquish the job as committee chair. The encounter with Kaur "is separate and distinct from what I do on the Governance Committee," she said.
- Jones said she's taken leadership training before, and that she'd be happy to do it again if the entire council also undertakes the training so that they have "a common frame of reference about leadership and accountability."
- She added that she apologized to Kaur privately.
- "I also want to apologize to the community," she said. "I think we recognize that this is a distraction."
A spokesperson for Kaur tells Axios the councilmember will not speak on the incident until after Friday's vote.
Context: Jones has been at odds with councilmembers since she took office last summer. One of her first actions on the job was to make changes to the council's policymaking process, a move a majority of councilmembers opposed and stepped in to prevent.
Flashback: The City Council has censured three of its members since 2022, two of whom could vote on Jones' censure Friday.
- Councilmembers Marc Whyte and Ivalis Meza Gonzalez were censured in 2024 and 2025, respectively, after their arrests on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
- Then-Councilmember Mario Bravo was censured in 2022 for behavior toward then-Councilmember Ana Sandoval, his former romantic partner, that also violated workplace violence policy.
- The council adopted an internal code of conduct in 2024.
What's next: The City Council will vote on the censure at 10am Friday. You can watch the meeting live online.