El Paso city Rep. Brian Kennedy faces second ethics complaint

El Paso Times
Adam Powell - El Paso Times
January 13, 2023

West Side city Rep. Brian Kennedy, who has been on the job for less than two weeks, faces a second ethics complaint over a potential conflict of interest that prevented him from voting on the Downtown arena proposal.

The issue arose during his first official meeting as a council member.

The complaint was filed by Dora Oaxaca-Rivera, former chair of the El Paso County Democratic Party, whose husband, Eastridge-Mid-Valley city Rep. Henry Rivera, voted against halting the arena project in Duranguito.

The council ultimately voted 4-3-1 to abandon the Duranguito site.

The issue of a potential conflict of interest first arose before the start of an executive session during the Jan. 3 El Paso City Council meeting. Kennedy was informed by El Paso City Attorney Karla Nieman that his past work as a marketing consultant for the El Paso Sports Commission could constitute a conflict of interest related to the arena vote.

In light of the potential conflict, Kennedy abstained from the vote and made no comments during the discussion preceding the vote. Still, he has insisted that his work with the Sports Commission ended last year.

For her part, Oaxaca-Rivera insists in her complaint that the potential conflict of interest should have barred Kennedy from participating in the executive session.

She asserts that Kennedy's work with the Sports Commission puts him in competition with the city of El Paso's proposed Multi-Purpose Arts and Entertainment Center, commonly referred to as an arena, because the commission — a private, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization — has a contract with the county and receives public funds to manage the El Paso County Coliseum and assist with sports tourism.

It is unknown how much Kennedy was paid for his work with the Sports Commission.

Accompanying Oaxaca-Rivera's complaint was a copy of an email to Nieman in which she lays out her concerns.

In the email, Oaxaca-Rivera states that during the Jan. 3 council meeting, she approached Tony Rodriguez, the El Paso Sports Commission's director of communications and events, to inquire about Kennedy's role as a consultant for the Sports Commission.

"(Rodriguez) assertively responded and confirmed (Kennedy) was their (the Sports Commission) attorney and he worked for them as needed," Oaxaca-Rivera's email to Nieman stated. "I stated to Tony that it was a conflict of interest because the Sports Commission is funded by the county. Mr. Rodriguez nervously responded they pay with 'different' money."

After the exchange with Rodriguez, Oaxaca-Rivera said she approached Nieman about the issue. However, Kennedy came and "interrupted" their conversation to clarify that he was not the commission's attorney of record but a marketing consultant.

Oaxaca-Rivera then addressed the issue with Kennedy and asked for proof that he had resigned from the commission.

"Evidently he was uncomfortable with my request to show evidence of him just quitting his job as marketing consultant with the Sports Commission," Oaxaca-Rivera said in the email. "He noticed the media took notice of our conversation exchange and proceeded to make dismissive gestures in my direction."

For his part, Kennedy referred all questions related to the ethics complaint and the potential conflict of interest to his attorney, Jim Darnell, who likewise represents the Sports Commission. The El Paso Times reached out to Darnell for comment but did not receive one.

This is the second ethics complaint filed against Kennedy during his short tenure on the City Council – both Kennedy and newly elected East Valley city Rep. Art Fierro were hit with ethics complaints last week regarding unpaid tickets at the time of their swearing-in ceremony.

Both took oaths affirming that they did not have outstanding debts owed the city. Both later acknowledged they had the outstanding debts.

It now falls to the council to decide whether to act on any of the ethics complaints.

El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser has expressed hesitancy in acting on the complaints related to unpaid tickets, saying, "it is important to move forward to the important work on behalf of the citizens of El Paso" rather than focus on "minor traffic infractions."

It's unclear how he or the council might respond to the possible conflict of interest.

For Oaxaca-Rivera, the only acceptable outcome is an investigation.

"It is important to confirm that there is no existing or potential conflict of interest regarding city Representative Bryan Kennedy's employee with the Sports Commission that is funded with county dollars," Oaxaca-Rivera said in the email, misspelling Kennedy's first name. "I request an investigation from your office regarding City Representative Bryan Kennedy's conflicting statements regarding his employment with the Sports Commission funded with County dollars."