The Ethics Review Commission of the City of San Marcos held a special meeting to discuss a tweet from City Council Place 5 member Jocabed Marquez. An additional public hearing will be held at a later date.
Marquez posted the tweet in question Nov. 19 in regards to housing developers making proposals to the city council, stating:
“All the developers seeking to make big profits in SM for ‘affordable housing’ all have the same look: White, male, tall, wear blue blazers, money hungry, and emotionless…AND It feels damn good to vote against their proposed development.”
Following this post, a complaint was filed by San Marcos resident and real estate manager Phil Hutchinson, who accused the council member of exercising bias. Hutchinson believes Marquez’s statement is a violation of San Marcos Code of Ordinances 2.421, which states:
“It is the policy of the city that all city officials and employees shall conduct themselves both inside and outside the city’s service so as to give no occasion for distrust of their integrity, impartiality or devotion to the best interest of the city and the public trust which the city holds.”
The Ethics Review Commission met Jan. 6 to address this complaint. The date of the declared public hearing is currently undetermined.
The University Star will continue to update this story as the situation develops.