City attorney refutes Tenorio, says Mitchell innocent of ethics violations

Kyle City Attorney Frank Garza issued an opinion that says City Council member Travis Mitchell has committed no ethics violations in connection with this company’s financial transactions with the City, contradicting what appears to be a retaliatory claim lodged by his colleague on the council, Daphne Tenorio.

When Tenorio learned last month Mitchell, supported by a majority of the council, was prepared to file criminal charges against her based on allegations she profited from information she learned about during council closed executive sessions, her attorney, E. Chevo Pastrano Jr. filed a counter-complaint claiming that the city’s purchases of items from a company owned by Mitchell’s family as well as paying his company for equipment repairs constituted violation of criminal law by Mitchell.

Garza said not only were these claims groundless, but he also told the council member "Mitchell Motorsports may continue to do business with the City as long as you (Council Member Mitchell) have no involvement in any capacity with the City in such transactions."

"Mitchell Motorsports … is the only place in Kyle to have products needed by the City," Garza wrote. "Mitchell Motorsports is the only STIHL dealer and the only Ferris dealer in town. The City uses this type of equipment for their landscaping equipment."

To the non-legal layman, Tenorio’s attorney’s claim that Mitchell committed a criminal act seemed groundless because of the simple fact that "commit" is a transitive verb; i.e. it suggests some form of action on the part of the subject. If any entity took action, it was the City, which made the purchases or ordered the repairs, which, incidentally, averaged only $49.16 per transaction last year and $13.87 per transaction so far In 2017, the years Mitchell has been a member of the City Council.

Garza called these minor purchases, adding "City management has confirmed that because of the minimal cost of these purchases, they are not required to go through the city’s procurement process nor do the purchases require City Council approval."

Pastrano claimed Mitchell committed a criminal/ethics violation by voting to approve the City’s budget for the current fiscal year. Garza, however, seemed to refute that specific allegation as well, writing that Section 2-180 (f) of the City Charter "does not prohibit the contract or transaction from taking place as long as the official does not participate in any manner with the (specific) contract or transaction."

The only purchase from Mitchell Motorsports requiring City Council approval since October 2014 took place before Mitchell was elected to the council.

Finally, Garza wrote Chapter 171 of the Local Government Code "still allows for city officials to have contracts or conduct transactions with an official’s business as long as the official discloses, recuses and does not participate in the decision. The City’s ethics code was patterned after this state law."

Mitchell said tonight in an email that Garza’s opinion "is the written version of what I was told verbally as I prepared to take office."