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COPS Metro and the No Project Marvel Coalition have filed an ethics complaint against members of the San Antonio City Council over alleged endorsement over Props A & B on the November ballot.
The complaint was filed through a political action committee called Defending Public Money for Public Good which was created to oppose the proposed Spurs arena funding. It alleges that city council members held or attended town halls where speakers were only pro-arena funding.
Props A and B are the two issues on the ballot getting the most attention this election cycle.
Both were created by Bexar County. Prop A would raise the county’s hotel occupancy tax from 1.75% to 2% to help fund a $197 million redevelopment of the Frost Bank Center, Freeman Coliseum, and stock show/rodeo grounds — with a long-term goal of turning the East Side into a year-round rodeo and event destination.
Prop B is directly related to the arena portion of the so-called Project Marvel, a proposed sports and entertainment district in HemisFair. Prop B would allow Bexar County to use $311 million of the venue tax money to fund the creation of a new multipurpose arena designed primarily as the home venue for the San Antonio Spurs basketball team.
The complaint highlighted several events including rallies and town halls that were not coordinated by the city but included invited members of the city council and city management.
“The event is explicitly promoted as a 'Town Hall & Rally' designed to 'inform and engage residents around Proposition A and Proposition B' with 'City Representatives, former city leaders, Spurs leadership, and more' listed as featured speakers. The title and description make clear that this is a campaign rally advocating in favor of Proposition B— not a neutral public information session,” the complaint stated.
Several other events mentioned were council member-led town halls.
At a news conference in front of city hall, Mike Phillips, PAC treasurer and a leader with COPS/Metro said the opposition was left out. “City leadership should welcome transparency and not avoid it. Voters deserve clear factual information before they vote, not carefully filtered one-sided talking points from City Hall," he said.
Phillips added the complaint was filed with the city’s ethics review board and they are considering sending it to the Texas Ethics Commission.
In a reply letter from the City Attorney’s office at the City of San Antonio, first assistant City Attorney Liz Provencio said the complaint would follow the city’s ethics review process. She added that there are provisions where the city can provide information about ballot initiatives.
"The prohibitions upon City resources do not apply to a 'communication that factually describes the purposes' of an election measure and allows the resources of the City to produce explanatory material about what is at stake in a measure election,” she said. “The City has taken steps in preparation of the November 4, 2025, election to provide information to the public while not engaging in advocacy either for or against a measure.”
The letter added that council members can take sides on an issue at non-city events where city funding is not used.
