Versión en español a continuación. Regular Meeting of the Ethics Review Commission Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. Ethics Review Commission to be held February 10, 2021 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance no later than Tuesday, March 9, 2021 by noon. All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the February 10, 2021 Ethics Review Commission Meeting, members of the public must: •Call or email the board liaison at 512.974.2171 and lynn.carter@austintexas.gov no later than noon, (the day before the meeting). The following information is required: speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, email address and telephone number (must be the same number that will be used to call into the meeting). •Once a request to speak has been made to the board liaison, the information to call on the day of the scheduled meeting will be provided either by email or phone call. •Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start time in order to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to lynn.carter@austintexas.gov by noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. •If the meeting is broadcast live, it may be viewed here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live 1 Reunión del ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION FECHA de la reunion March 10, 2021 La junta se llevará con modificaciones de distanciamiento social. Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores deben registrarse con anticipación March 9, 2021 antes del mediodía. Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. Para hablar de forma remota en la reunión, los miembros del público deben: • Llame o envíe un correo electrónico al enlace de la junta en 512.974.2171 and lynn.carter@austintexas.gov a más tardar al mediodía (el día antes de la reunión). Se requiere la siguiente información: nombre del orador, número (s) de artículo sobre el que desean hablar, si están a favor / en contra / neutral, dirección de correo electrónico (opcional) y un número de teléfono (debe ser el …
CITY OF AUSTIN ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION Complaint No. 20201007 MARK LITTLEFIELD, Complainant v. PECK YOUNG, VOICES OF AUSTIN Respondent § § § § § § § ORDER ON FINAL HEARING I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY On October 7, 2020, Mark Littlefield (“Complainant”) submitted to the Austin City Clerk (“City Clerk”) two sworn complaints against Peck Young, Voices of Austin (“Respondent”). The City Clerk’s Office promptly sent a copy of the complaints and a notice of filing to the City Attorney, the Chair of the Ethics Review Commission (“the Commission”), Complainant, and Respondent. The first complaint / allegation (“Complaint 1”) alleged that: (1) on or about September 26, 2020, Voices of Austin, a 501(c)(4) organization paid for an automated phone call to Austin voters and failed to comply with Austin City Code Section 2-2-33, which required a disclosure statement of the names of the five largest contributors. The second complaint / allegation (“Complaint 2”) alleged that on October 1, 2020 or on October 2, 2020, Voices of Austin, a 501(c)(4) organization “sent an email with a PDF of their ‘latest mailer’ to Austin voters”, and that Voices of Austin failed to comply with City Code Section 2-2-33 by not including a disclosure statement with the names of the five largest contributors. On November 2, 2020, a notice of Preliminary Hearing was issued, setting the hearing for November 18, 2020. Attorney Roger Borgelt appeared on behalf of Peck Young and Voices of Austin. Mr. Borgelt stated that he did not receive a copy of both complaints against Peck Young City of Austin Ethics Review Commission ORDER ON FINAL HEARING – PAGE 1 and requested a postponement of the hearing. The Commission then voted in favor of a postponement of the preliminary hearing on a vote of 9-1 of the members present. On December 18, 2020, a notice of Preliminary Hearing was issued, setting the preliminary hearing for January 13, 2021.1 At the January 13, 2021, meeting of the Commission, the preliminary hearing was not completed due to a technology failure of the WebEx virtual meeting platform. Complainant, Mark Littlefield, appeared at the hearing, and Roger Borgelt, Attorney for Peck Young and Voices of Austin, appeared on behalf of Respondent. The parties completed their preliminary hearing presentations on January 13, 2021. However, the remainder of the hearing was interrupted by the WebEx failure, and the Commission was unable to vote to continue the meeting beyond …
TO: FROM: DATE: City of Austin Ethics Review Commission LETTER OF CENSURE Voices of Austin City of Austin Ethics Review Commission March 24, 2021 RE: Determination of Sanctions under City Code, Sections 2-7-48 and 2-7-49 In accordance with Chapter 2-7 of the Austin City Code, this letter is to advise you that the City of Austin Ethics Review Commission (the “Commission”) has completed its consideration of the complaint filed with the Commission against Peck Young, Voices of Austin on October 7, 2020. The Complaint alleged that Voices of Austin “sent an email with a PDF of their ‘latest mailer’ to Austin voters”, and that the communication failed to include a disclosure statement with the names of the five largest contributors as required by City Code Section 2-2-33. At a final hearing held on March 10, 2021, the Commission determined that Voices of Austin violated City Code Section 2-2-33 (Disclosure Statement Required) of Chapter 2-2 (Campaign Finance). A letter of censure is the appropriate sanction where the Commission finds a serious or repeated violation of City Code Chapter 2-7, which incorporates violations of City Code Chapter 2-2 (Campaign Finance). The Commission heard evidence and made determinations at a final hearing on the allegations. The Commission’s actions were recorded by video recording and are available at: https://austintx.new.swagit.com/videos/114281. Based on the Commission’s findings and determinations, the Commission issues this letter of censure to Voices of Austin. This action is effective as of the 10th day of March, 2021. CITY OF AUSTIN ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION Luis Soberon Chair, Ethics Review Commission CC: City Manager Members of the City Council Mayor of the City of Austin City Clerk (all by email)
ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, March 10, 2021 The Ethics Review Commission (“Commission”) convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, Austin, Texas via Videoconference. Chair Luis Soberon called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. Commissioners in attendance: Chair Luis Soberon, Secretary Kenneth “Tray” Gober, and Commissioners Debra Danburg, Betsy Greenberg, Mary Kahle, Raafia Lari, Robin Lerner, and Donna Beth McCormick were present at roll call. Vice-Chair Ohueri joined the meeting during executive session. Commissioner Lari left the meeting after the conclusion of item 3, Final Hearing. Members absent: Nathan Ryan and Pedro A. Villalobos. City Staff in Attendance: Lynn Carter, Commission Executive Liaison & Assistant City Attorney and Annette Bogusch, Paralegal, Law Department. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION Each person who signed up to speak prior to the meeting being called to order and who designated this item on which to speak, or who did not designate an agenda item on which to speak will be allowed three minutes to speak. Two speakers registered for citizen communication: Donna Garcia Davidson and Mark Littlefield registered to speak on item 2 and reserved their time to speak when the item was called. 1. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Ethics Review Commission may announce it will go into Executive Session pursuant to Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code to receive advice from legal counsel on any matters specifically listed on this agenda (Private Consultation with Attorney-Section 551.071). (a) Complaints filed by Mark Littlefield against Save Austin Now, which complaint alleges violations of City Code Chapter 2-2 (Campaign Finance) Sections 2-2-23 (Political Committees) and 2-2-26 (Filing Campaign Finance Report Data) of Chapter 2-2 (Campaign Finance). (b) Complaints filed by Mark Littlefield against Peck Young, Voices of Austin, which complaints allege violation of City Code Chapter 2-2 (Campaign Finance) Section 2-2-33 (Disclosure Statement Required). (c) Whether the City Code can be amended to provide authority for civil fines as a sanction for violations within the Commission’s jurisdiction. The Commission went into executive session at 6:10 p.m. and the open meeting resumed at 7:05 p.m. Outside counsel, Steve Sheets, advised the Commission on item 1(a); Assistant City Attorney, Lynn Carter, advised the Commission on items 1(b) and (c). 2. PENDING COMPLAINT – EVIDENTIARY MATTERS Discussion and possible action regarding the following: Evidentiary matters, including requests for records and/or witnesses in regard to the complaint(s) filed on October 13, 2020 by Mark Littlefield against Save Austin …
