San Antonio – The treasurer of the San Antonio Police Officers Association has been fined by the Texas Ethics Commission for violating the Texas Election Code.
The agreed resolution between the TEC and SAPOA Treasurer Jason Sanchez comes months after San Antonio police accountability group ACT 4 SA filed a formal complaint against the police union.
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The February complaint targeted campaign expenditure reports filed by Sanchez surrounding the May 2021 City Election.
SAPOA spent more than $615,000 in opposition to the Proposition B ballot measure, a failed effort to repeal San Antonio police officers’ collective bargaining power.
Sanchez filed multiple campaign expenditure reports in his own name instead of the police officers association.
According to the Texas Ethics Commission ruling, Sanchez submitted a direct campaign expenditure report for a $299,110 expenditure to an advertising agency for a commercial opposing the Proposition B ballot measure.
In a memorandum submitted with the report, Sanchez stated, “I am filing in my name as the Treasurer of a Labor organization, the San Antonio Police Officer’s Association. This is the first report I am filing and I am unaware of previous filings by the San Antonio Police Officer’s Association.”
A second direct campaign expenditure report disclosed $301,610 paid to the same advertising agency for the same ad. That report had a memorandum that stated that Sanchez was “filing this report in [his] name as the treasurer of a labor organization, the San Antonio Police Officer’s Association (SAPOA).”
Sanchez later filed a third direct campaign expenditure report for $14,662.70 but did not include a memo indicating he was filing it on behalf of SAPOA.
The Ethics Committee found that Sanchez violated Section 254.261 of the Texas Election Code by filing the campaign expenditures under his own name rather than SAPOA’s.
Sanchez claimed the violations were a mistake and not “intentional malfeasance,” saying he had only been treasurer for a few months and tried to clarify with the memos.
Sanchez was fined $5,000 by the Texas Ethics Commission, according to an agreed resolution signed earlier this month.
The San Antonio Police Officers’ Association fully cooperated with the Texas Ethics Commission throughout the proceeding to address this matter. We have consented to their proposed resolution and have resolved the sworn complaint,” SAPOA President Danny Diaz told KSAT.
In a press release from Act 4 SA, the grassroots organization said they would continue to be a “watchdog” over law enforcement agencies and their unions.
Tec Fines Sapoa by Julie Moreno on Scribd