City of El Paso explains next steps after councilman files complaint against mayor

by Fallon Fischer | Jhovani Carrillo
Tuesday, June 7th 2022

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — The City of El Paso on Tuesday provided more information about what will happen with the code of conduct complaint El Paso City Representative and Mayor Pro Tempore Peter Svarzbein filed against Mayor Oscar Leeser on Monday.

Per the code of conduct, the city said the following steps will be taken:

• The alternate mayor pro tempore, Cissy Lizarraga, will meet with the two council members to resolve the concern.
• If the concern is not resolved the item will be posted on a council agenda.

KFOX14 asked the city what will happen if the complaint is brought before council.

Reporter Jhovani Carrillo: "If it is brought up to council as an agenda item, do council members then decide who is at fault?"

City of El Paso Strategic Communications Director Laura Cruz-Acosta: "That is a discussion for the council members. It will all be dependent on the council member discussion."

KFOX14 also asked if the council would be able to decide if discipline is warranted.

“Again, I can’t predict the future. it would really depend on the conversions on the council members," said Cruz-Acosta.

Jhovani Carrillo reports on City of El Paso explains next steps after councilman files complaint against mayor (KFOX14/CBS4){p}{/p}

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The complaint was filed after a heated debate between Svarzbein and Leeser at a special city council meeting on Monday and following an incident that happened in February, Svarzbein stated.

The debate at the special city council on meeting on Monday took place before the city council voted to override the mayor's veto on the city manager's contract extension.

“This is absolutely politically motivated, these vetoes by the mayor, are here to help candidates that align with the mayor to turn out incumbents," said Svarzbein at the meeting on Monday.

"You need to be professional," said Leeser on Monday.

"I thought we’re in a democracy," responded Svarzbein.

"And that’s why I have the floor, and you need to be quiet while I have the floor do you understand. Now I remember why Mayor Margo does not like you, why Mayor Margo disrespected you because you seem to want to interrupt me and you seem to have a problem with the prior mayor, a problem with me now and it’s got nothing to do with me," said Leeser.

Svarzbein in the meeting on Monday also said that he had been "physically threatened" by the mayor before.

Svarzbein said the incident on Feb. 1 occurred after he confronted the mayor about being dismissive of council members.

On February 1st, 2022, directly after the meeting on Item 64, I approached Mayor Leeser and Isabel Salcido to express my concern about the manner in which the mayor had failed to conduct the meeting in accordance with the City Council’s Rules of Order by not allowing any additional comments from representatives who had requested to speak. I also wanted to express my disappointment in the mayor failing to call members of council to order during debate. I was so disrupted that I requested that the City Clerk stop my time on the floor to ask for the ability to complete my statement without interruption.

I spoke with Mayor Leeser between his position on the dais and Isabel Salcido’s position. I told him that I found it disrespectful to Rep. Salcido and to the council to not allow the conversation to continue or to hear her motion. He said I was being disrespectful and that he would start treating me in the same manner Dee Margo used to. I told him I was not trying to disrespect him, but that I was trying to state he was not following our Rules of Order. He told me not to disrespect him. He continued to insist I was being disrespectful and stood up and said “shut your mouth.” As I insisted I was seeking clarification about his treatment of the council, he said “keep talking, keep talking” and then “shut your mouth or I will shut it for you”. I noticed at this point that he stood up more straight and clenched his right fist. I was concerned about him escalating this conversation to physical violence, and it reminded me about the alleged altercation at Thyme Matters between Mayor Leeser and the husband of a former District 1 City Representative. In order to avoid further escalation, I decided to remove myself from the area.

I began to walk towards my desk to pack my belongings and exit council chambers. Mayor Leeser began to follow me in an attempt to ‘square up’ to me and continued insulting me and being verbally abusive, and I did not feel physically safe. He repeatedly said that I am a joke and that I have no respect from City staff or City Council. As I packed my belongings and was walking towards the exit out of City Hall, he continued following me towards the exit and continuing his verbal assault stating “you [Peter] think you know everything and speak on every item, and you know nothing and the City Council is tired of you and thinks you are a joke.” As I reached the exit, he said “you outsmarted yourself and I am going to show everyone what a joke you are”. He was breathing heavily at this point and continuing to try to block my path, and I felt in physical danger if he were to follow me all the way outside the Council chambers. I tried to remove myself from the situation by turning around and walking back into the atrium area outside of Council chambers, and thankfully Mayor Leeser there encountered Laura Prine, Tracey Jerome, Karla Nieman, and other staff members, and presumably not wanting to be seen following me, he stopped and remained there to speak with them.

The confrontation happened in front of Isabel Salcido, Henry Rivera, Karla Nieman, Laura Prine, Cissy Lizarraga, and Tracey Jerome, according to Svarzbein.

Svarzbein listed the sections of the code of conduct that he believes the mayor violated:

• Practice civility, professionalism, and decorum during discussions and debate. Keep in mind that criticism of ideas and expression of differing points of view are legitimate elements of a free democracy in action.
• Refrain from making belligerent, personal, impertinent, slanderous, threatening, abusive, or disparaging comments. No shouting or physical actions that could be construed as threatening will be tolerated.
• Demonstrate effective problem-solving approaches. Officials have a public stage to show how individuals with disparate points of view can find common ground and seek a compromise that benefits the community as a whole.
• It is the responsibility of the Mayor to maintain order and keep the comments of Officials on track during public meetings. Officials should maintain focus on the current agenda item being discussed. If there is disagreement about the agenda or the Mayor’s actions, those objections should be voiced politely and with reason, following parliamentary procedure. The City follows Roberts Rule of Order for meeting management, to the extent they are not in conflict with other City procedural rules and/or orders.

In Private Settings:

• Continue respectful communications in private. The same level of respect and consideration of differing points of view deemed appropriate for public discussions should be maintained in private conversations.

2022 City of El Paso Code of Conduct by Fallon Fischer on Scribd

Svarzbein said he would like for the mayor to apologize.

Mayor Leeser issued the following statement on Monday about the complaint:

It is regretful that in a situation where as Mayor, I exercised my authority to veto an important issue – in which the response I received from the community overwhelmingly supported my action – that Rep. Svarzbein is attempting to divert attention from his controversial vote today by writing a revisionist history of a conversation of almost 4 months ago. El Pasoans are smart enough to know the character of their elected officials," said Leeser.

KFOX14 also asked the city about when a discussion between Leeser and Svarzbein could begin.

Cruz-Acosta said it will depend on their schedules.