Ethics commission finds no reasonable grounds after complainant fails to appear

The Austin Ethics Review Commission voted unanimously on March 25 to find no reasonable grounds to proceed to a final hearing after the complainant did not appear.

Chair Ross Pumphrey said the commission would entertain a motion to find no reasonable grounds to proceed to a final hearing because the complainant had not shown up. "So moved," Vice Chair Sharkey said, and Commissioner Kiel seconded. The chair called the vote and recorded a unanimous finding that no reasonable grounds existed to continue to a final hearing.

During discussion, a commissioner asked whether the city has a mechanism similar to civil-court rules for vexatious litigants to prevent repeated, resource-consuming filings. Caroline Webster of the City Law Department replied, "Currently, no, there is nothing in city code that addresses that." The commission did not adopt any new rule or policy on that question at the meeting.

The chair then adjourned the meeting at 6:20 p.m.