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The Farmers Branch City Council unanimously dismissed an ethics complaint against City Council Member Elizabeth Villafranca early Wednesday morning after spending about 45 minutes discussing the matter behind closed doors.
The executive session immediately followed a lengthy public hearing into Villafranca’s separate ethics complaint against City Council Member Lupe Gonzalez. Both complaints stemmed, in part, from a June 2 confrontation between the two council members.
Cesar Gonzalez, Lupe Gonzalez’s husband, filed a revised ethics complaint against Villafranca July 10, accusing her of violating portions of the city’s Code of Ethics dealing with honesty and integrity, fairness and respect, conflicts of interest, disclosure of confidential information and harassment.
Villafranca rejected the allegations in a July 16 written response.
“This complaint is factually inaccurate. The cited provisions do not apply,” Villafranca wrote. “It is based on unverified third-party hearsay from an individual who was not present, with no evidence submitted. This is retaliatory and intended to intimidate.”
Unlike Villafranca’s complaint against Lupe Gonzalez, which resulted in a public hearing lasting hours Aug. 4-5, the complaint against Villafranca was considered in executive session.
When council members returned to open session, City Council Member Roger Neal moved to dismiss the complaint. City Council Member David Reid seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-0, with all council members voting.
The council did not provide a detailed public explanation for its decision. The meeting adjourned at 3:27 a.m.
The complaint considered by the council was a revised version of an earlier filing. On July 10, Cesar Gonzalez withdrew his original complaint against Villafranca and submitted a revised complaint the same day.
“I, Cesar Gonzalez, would like to withdraw my original ethics complaint pertaining to Elizabeth Villafranca, dated 10 July 26. I am submitting my final draft,” Gonzalez wrote by hand on the document filed with the City Secretary’s Office.
The City of Farmers Branch released the complaint and Villafranca’s response to the Branch Herald on Aug. 6 in response to an open records request.
The revised complaint challenged Villafranca’s account of the June 2 confrontation and cited video of the incident presented to the council during a June 11 special meeting. Cesar Gonzalez argued the recording was inconsistent with Villafranca’s description of his wife as the aggressor and alleged Villafranca had been dishonest in her sworn ethics complaint against Lupe Gonzalez.
Cesar Gonzalez was not present for the June 2 confrontation. Portions of his complaint recount what his wife told him about the incident and other interactions with Villafranca.
The complaint also alleged Villafranca should not have participated in matters involving the ethics complaint she filed against Lupe Gonzalez because she had a personal interest in its outcome. It accused Villafranca of improperly disclosing confidential information by providing the Branch Herald a copy of her ethics complaint before its public release and alleged a pattern of harassment toward Lupe Gonzalez.
Those were allegations made in Cesar Gonzalez’s complaint, not findings by the City Council.
The two complaints followed different paths Aug. 4. Villafranca’s complaint against Lupe Gonzalez was examined during a public hearing that included testimony and arguments over the June 2 confrontation. Immediately afterward, the council went behind closed doors for approximately 45 minutes to consider the complaint against Villafranca.
When the council returned, there was little discussion before Neal moved to dismiss the complaint, Reid seconded the motion and all five council members voted in favor.
The vote ended the second ethics proceeding considered that night involving Gonzalez and Villafranca and brought the meeting to a close at 3:27 a.m.
The complaint and Villafranca's response are attached to this story.
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