The City of San Antonio’s Ethics Review Board voted to hold a hearing on Aug. 14 to further investigate a complaint made against Councilman Marc Whyte by San Antonio attorney and former bar owner Martin Phipps.
Filed by Phipps in early May, the complaint accused Whyte of abusing using his office and access to law enforcement when he asked both San Antonio Police Chief William McManus and Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar to send officers to Phipps’ home to check on his children in April.
Whyte said in his response to the complaint that he had been at a Fiesta party when Phipps’ ex-wife Jessica Joyner sent texts to Whyte’s wife, Lorien Whyte, who had represented Joyner in the couple’s child custody case. The texts appeared to show that Joyner was worried about one of the couples’ children, who was staying with Phipps that night, according to Whyte’s response. Lorien Whyte then forwarded the texts to her husband.
“I received those texts showing the girl saying she wasn’t safe, was hurt and scared,” Whyte told the San Antonio Report on Wednesday via text message. “So I took the quickest action I knew how to find out what was going on and make sure she was ok.”
Officers from both agencies ultimately visited Phipps’ home; they reported no injuries to the child and did not pursue any charges.
In his response to Phipps’ complaint, Whyte stated that he never directed SAPD or the sheriff’s office to take specific action. He describes getting a text response from McManus that the scene had been cleared, “I responded that I could not believe that police had left the scene and that I hoped nothing happened to the girl.”
This appears to be the second time Whyte sought to connect with McManus directly over an issue. In December, after Whyte had been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, he asked to speak with McManus, the arresting officer said during a March hearing. Whyte has said he doesn’t remember making that request.
White was charged with a DWI earlier this month, more than six months after his arrest.
Phipps’ complaint charges that Whyte violated several provisions of the ethics code, including conflicts of interest and improper influence.
“Without any personal knowledge or good faith basis, Councilman Whyte made false, unsubstantiated accusations of child abuse against me to San Antonio Police and Bexar County Sheriff’s officers and dispatched them to my home,” Phipps wrote in his complaint.
Phipps, who represented Bexar County in its successful lawsuit against opioid manufacturers, in recent years has defended against accusations of a hostile work environment, dueling lawsuits over a building and rooftop bar he used to own and a lawsuit filed by a lender alleging nonpayment of $58 million in loans.
Whyte briefly worked as a partner at one of Phipps’ law firms, from 2014 to 2016.
When an ethics complaint is filed against a city council member, the city hires an outside lawyer to review the complaint to determine whether it might constitute a violation of the city’s ethics code and warrant further review.
In this case, the city hired Ross Fischer, an Austin-based ethics attorney, to review Phipps’ complaint. Fischer, along with the ethics review board chair and vice chair, agreed that the full board, which is made up of 11 San Antonio residents, should take up Phipps’ complaints.
On Tuesday, the board voted unanimously to hold a hearing for further investigation.
The City Attorney’s Office said Wednesday in a statement that the Ethics Review Board’s decision to hold a hearing “does not mean the ERB has made any determination on the merits” of the complaint, and the board won’t issue a ruling until after the hearing.
Phipps and Whyte will both have the opportunity to make opening statements and present evidence, and may be questioned by members of the review board.
If the board finds a violation, it may call for civil remedies ranging from an admonition to maximum fine of $500.
Correction: This story has been updated to clarify who made the decision for the ethics review board to review Martin Phipps’ complaint.
