Complaint Against San Marcos Parks Board Member To Go To Hearing

Staff Reports

On Wednesday, the San Marcos Ethics Review Commission discussed and took actions necessary to prepare for the hearing on a complaint against a member of the Parks and Recreation Board.

The complaint was filed against Jordan Buckley, who was appointed to the board by the City Council in March of 2019.

The complaint alleges that Buckley falsely accused City Marshal and Park Ranger, Loy Locke, of being a racist during a parks board public meeting.

The accusations were made based on three complaints of racism and discrimination filed against City Marshals.

According to Commissioners, Buckley received copies of the complaints as part of a public information request, which he cited as proof of his accusations.

However, Ethics Commissioner Tammy Walden noted that only one of the complaints was against Locke.

The complaint states two of the three filed grievances were against other deputy marshals in the department.

During the parks meeting, Buckley stated he had read the complaints.

“And even though he had them and had read them, he was still stating as a fact that each one of these complaints was against Officer Locke,” Walden said. “And that based on what those complaints were, it was a logical conclusion that [Locke] was a racist even though only one of the complaints was against him and was declared unfounded.”

Commissioners noted the individuals who filed the complaints against the park rangers declined the city’s offer to meet with staff and further discuss the issue during their investigation.

The complaint alleges that Buckley violated the City Ethics Ordinance, Article 5 – Standard of Conduct, subsection (b)(4) states: “make a false statement of material fact at a public meeting.”

According to the complaint, the meeting was recorded via zoom and available for the public to view on the City’s website for more than a month.

The complaint states that Buckley informed those present filed for a public record request and found three complaints against Locke concerning “racism” and accused him of being “a racist” several times throughout the meeting.

In the complaint, it states that Buckley requested “Any and all complaints on Park Rangers or Marshals,” which was filled by City Marshal Jade Huffman.

City Attorney Michael Cosentino said the San Marcos City Marshals are not part of the San Marcos Police Department and serve as park rangers.

Commissioners agreed to maintain the current public hearing date set for ten days from Wednesday, Jan. 27.

The following witnesses will be called to speak at the ethics hearing:

• Drew Wells
• Jamie Case
• Jade Huffman
• Rusty Grice
• Lucia Cordova

In preparation for the hearing on Buckley’s case, the commissioners identified items and documentations they wanted to review including everything he received as part of the Public Information Request and the recording of the Parks Board meeting.

The commission will obtain un-redacted clips of the Sept. 17, 2020 Parks and Recreation Board meeting to review the portion relevant to the complaint.

Commissioners briefly discussed postponing the meeting; however, they ultimately decided against it.

The Commissioners next regular meeting is slated for March.