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San Antonio’s Ethics Review Board (ERB) found unanimously that former Mayor Ron Nirenberg violated ethics rules while he was in office.
On Monday night, the ERB found that Nirenberg violated ethics rules when he used city facilities and personnel in photos for his social media campaign page.
The ERB dismissed a second allegation over Nirenberg’s failure to report an autographed Victor Wembanyama San Antonio Spurs jersey on his personal financial report after he made a correction to the report.
Kelly Walls made the pair of allegations against Nirenberg in a complaint over the summer.
Nirenberg did not attend the hearing, and a formal response to the complaint in July from his attorney Frank Burney said Nirenberg decided “not to contest” the complaints, though the he argued the violations were committed unknowingly and had been corrected in good faith to the extent possible.
Burney said in the letter that Nirenberg had conducted his social media activities in line with legal guidance from the City Attorney’s office, but that some posts among thousands may have violated the rule prohibiting city officials from using some city resources and personnel in campaign-related posts.
Burney pointed out that ethics rules surrounding social media posts and what does or does not constitute improper use of city personnel and resources “are not clear.”
Lastly, the letter asked for the ERB to dismiss the complaint or impose the least extreme or no sanction if they were to find Nirenberg in violation of ethics rules, saying that Nirenberg “expresses regret for this misstep and takes full responsibility.”
In a statement after the ERB made its findings relayed by Burney, Nirenberg thanked the board members for giving their time “to ensure that the public’s business is held to the highest standards.”
The ERB voted to issue Nirenberg a letter of admonition, one of the most minor sanctions it can impose — citing that the violations were minor and may have been inadvertent.
Nirenberg left the mayor’s office this summer once he termed out after eight years in the role.
Monday’s hearing is the fifth time a current or former member of the city council has been brought before the ERB in the last year and a half.
The ERB has found city officials in violation of ethics rules each of the five times.
District 10 Councilmember Marc Whyte has been found to have violated ethics rules on two separate occasions, including this past June when he was dinged for using city personnel and resources for campaign social media posts. District 1 Councilmember Sukh Kaur and District 2 Councilmember Jalen McKee-Rodriguez have also been found to be in violation of the city’s ethics rules.
ERB members also said they planned to revise the ethics code in the near future to require city council members to confirm with signatures that they received ethics training. City council members do not currently have such a paper trail for their ethics training.
