An outside attorney determined Wednesday that part of an ethics complaint filed against District 1 City Councilwoman Sukh Kaur can move forward for analysis by the city’s Ethics Review Board, documents obtained by the Current show.
The campaign of District 1 Candidate Julisa Medrano-Guerra filed the complaint against Kaur on April 1, arguing it had identified eight instances when the incumbent violated city ethics policies, including having her chief of staff campaign for her while on the city clock, misrepresenting her personal assets and lying about her work history via LinkedIn.
Third-party attorney Nadeen Abou-Hossa, who was hired by the city to determine whether Medrano-Guerra’s complaint carries merit, threw out most of the allegations, including the claim that Kaur misrepresented her work experience. However, the lawyer said Kaur may have failed to accurately disclose her personal assets and that her chief of staff Ryan Salts may have violated city ethics rules on campaigning.
The City Council-appointed Ethics Review Board now has 90 business days to rule on the matter, which could include dismissing the claims.
In its complaint, Medrano-Guerra’s campaign alleged that Salts handed out campaign flyers and discussed Kaur’s reelection efforts during a Lavaca Neighborhood Association meeting while he was there on official city business. Although staff can participate in politics, they can’t work on a campaign while on city time or do so in official capacity as a city employee.
“Councilwoman Kaur treating City Hall like it’s her campaign headquarters is not just unethical — it’s outrageous,” Medrano-Guerra said in a statement.
Kaur and her staff were unavailable Friday for comment on the complaint.
Abou-Hossa’s review also lets the Ethics Review Board determine whether Kaur misrepresented her assets in a personal financial disclosure report. However, city spokesman Brian Chasnoff told the Express News there would be no penalty if the councilwoman submitted new financial statements that correct earlier omissions or misstatements.
The outside attorney’s ruling on the ethics complaint comes roughly a month after Medrano-Guerra’s campaign publicized a DUI that Kaur received in 2013. Medrano-Guerra turned up the charge after hiring a private investigator to look into the councilwoman’s past.
“I made a mistake,” Kaur told the San Antonio Report. “No one was hurt, and I took full responsibility, complied with the legal process, and learned an important lersson that has shaped the person and leader I am today.”
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This article appears in Apr 2-15, 2025.