Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones looks down at her notes during a City Hall press conference on Tuesday. Credit: Michael Karlis

Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones on Tuesday said she won’t step down from a key committee role, undergo leadership training or issue another written apology if the majority of City Council votes to censure her on Friday.

“I’m not doing that,” Jones said at a a City Hall press conference when asked if she would give up her seat on council’s Governance Committee — one of the demands outlined in the proposed censure resolution council is scheduled to vote on Friday.

The document also calls for Jones to undergo leadership training and issue a written apology to District 1 Councilwoman Sukh Kaur with whom she had a heated exchange earlier this month. Five members of council issued a complaint about the mayor’s treatment of Kaur, which took place behind closed doors — a move that led to the upcoming censure vote.

Under San Antonio city policy, a vote to censure the mayor or a council member is a largely symbolic move meant to signal disapproval. Still, such a vote against Jones would be unprecedented, since no Alamo City mayor has been formally censured by colleagues before.

During Tuesday’s press conference, Jones told reporters she had already apologized in person to Kaur for “hurting her feelings,” adding that it was “certainly not” her intention to offend the councilwoman. The mayor also said she had already apologized to Kaur in writing, so a formal apology letter shouldn’t be needed to resolve the matter.

Further, Jones said she wouldn’t participate in the recommended leadership training — which would include discussions on civility, de-escalation, conflict resolution and effective workplace interactions — unless the rest of council also agreed to take part.

“I think that’s something that if the council wanted to undertake as a collective, then I would be more than happy to do,” Jones said.

Jones’ press conference came a day after a majority of City Council decided to move forward with the censure vote during closed-door executive session. An independent third party investigation also found that Jones’ verbal spat with Kaur violated the anti-harassment and workplace violence clauses in City Council’s code of conduct.

That exchange reportedly erupted because Kaur proposed giving longstanding LGBTQ+ nightspot the Bonham Exchange an unspecified extension to upgrade its sprinkler system, which was no longer compliant with city code. However, Jones, working with the City Attorney’s Office, cut a deal with the club’s owner before council could vote on the councilwoman’s proposal.

During Thursday’s presser, Jones told reporters that she raised her voice at Kaur because she was concerned the extension Kaur called for would put lives at risk.

“Our No. 1 responsibility as elected leaders is to keep people safe, and I became passionate because I, frankly, sided with the fire chief,” Jones said.

Exactly what Jones said to Kaur that day remains a mystery. Council members have largely avoided direct discussion of what words were exchanged in the pair’s argument.

During a Monday appearance on TPR, Jones told host David Martin Davies that she “dropped the F-bomb” and raised her voice as she and Kaur exchanged words. Still, the mayor maintained that she didn’t demean her colleague during the dustup.

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Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...