A Bexar County justice of the peace who stepped down late last month was sanctioned earlier this year for campaigning on behalf of his daughter in her failed state senate race, officials with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct confirmed Friday.

A Bexar County justice of the peace who was twice caught campaigning for his daughter in a 2020 state senate race has stepped down, calling out nepotism and salaries paid to employees who do not show up to work in a lengthy resignation letter announcing his exodus.

SAN ANTONIO – More than three months after Bexar County Justice of the Peace Ciro Rodriguez requested a forensic audit of court cases heard in his precinct, county officials say they have no anticipated completion date for the examination. OCA figures for the same time period show that Tejeda heard 20,503 cases, while Ciro Rodriguez heard 6,085 cases. Additionally, Ciro Rodriguez has been given two yearly salary increases during that time and now takes home $125,792 a year, records show. Commissioner Rodriguez was easily defeated Tuesday in the Democratic primary runoff for Precinct 1 by political newcomer Rebeca “Becky” Clay-Flores. A county spokeswoman said via text message late last month that the audit is examining which judge ultimately heard 92,000 different cases in Precinct 1.

SAN ANTONIO – State Representative Roland Gutierrez introduced the “Pact Act” on Thursday, also known as the Political Anti-Corruption and Transparency Act. Gutierrez referenced two KSAT 12 defenders investigations involving County Justice of the Peace Ciro Rodriguez, regarding Rodriguez’s short-term salary adjustment, which has now lasted more than two years. The other investigation delved into Rodriguez violating the State Code of Judicial Conduct by campaigning for his daughter, Xochil Pena Rodriguez in the State Senate race. Gutierrez said the legislation is intended to hold elected officials and candidates to a higher standard and accountable when needed. We did reach out to Pena Rodriguez’s campaign and received this response:“Clearly, Roland Gutierrez will say anything, collude with anyone and even create a fake newspaper, to mislead the public – all just to get elected.

SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County budget employees who last year questioned why a justice of the peace continued to collect full-time pay were instructed to leave the increase in place, emails obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders show. Bexar County Budget Director Seth McCabe. This budget slide from an August 2019 Commissioners Court meeting shows a decrease in workload for Bexar County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 last fiscal year. Bexar County Precinct 1. I believe it was very unprofessional,” said one employee, who remembered members of the public watching as Judge Rodriguez raised his voice to staff members.

SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE: Monday evening, more than a day after this story was posted, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff released a written statement. This map outlines the boundaries of Bexar County Precinct 1. (KSAT)As a result, Precinct 1, which makes up south Bexar County and parts of west Bexar County, is the only county justice of the peace to have two judges assigned to it. The information you were provided by Judge Tejeda is simply not true and does not reflect the actual work done by me as a part-time judge doing full-time work to allow Judge Tejeda to recover from his incapacitating illness. (KSAT)According to the OCA, from October 2019 to the end of February, Tejeda heard 20,503 cases while Ciro Rodriguez heard 6,085 cases.

Judge again caught campaigning for daughter in Texas Senate race as questions emerge about her donationsPublished: February 12, 2020, 11:17 pmWeeks after Bexar County Justice of the Peace Ciro Rodriguez apologized for campaigning for his daughter — a Democratic candidate for Texas Senate District 19 — and promised not to do it again, pictures again showed Rodriguez campaigning for his daughter.

Footage recorded during a Tejano Democrats event in late September shows Rodriguez introducing his daughter, Xochil Pena Rodriguez. Judge Ciro Rodriguez introduces his daughter, Xochil Pena Rodriguez, during a Tejano Democrats event. Judge Ciro Rodriguez hands out campaign literature for his daughter's run for the Texas Senate in early October. Here is a transcript of that message:Dillon, this is Ciro Rodriguez, Judge Rodriguez, and let me apologize, you know. So this is Judge Rodriguez (phone number redacted.)

WATCH: Judge campaigns for daughter in state senate race; appears to violate state judicial code of conductPublished: December 5, 2019, 10:41 amUndercover videos obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders show Bexar County Justice of the Peace Ciro Rodriguez campaigning for his daughter, a candidate for Texas Senate District 19, despite state laws forbidding judges from campaigning on behalf of another person.