Little information was given when three ethics complaints were filed — and later dismissed — against Farmers Branch Mayor Terry Lynne last month. But documents obtained by KERA now reveal the content of the complaints, and what one city official called a "pattern" of improper behavior by the mayor that needed repeated intervention.
The three complaints accused Lynne of improperly speaking with multiple employees after being told not to by the city manager, using his position as mayor to intervene in a local event and making insensitive comments to a Black man during a public safety event. All three complaints were rejected by the City Council during a special called Oct. 19 meeting.
“I think that the allegations were severe and significant enough that it would warrant at a minimum an investigation for someone to determine factually whether the allegations are substantiated,” former council member Omar Roman, who left office earlier this month to pursue law school, told KERA. “And in this situation, that didn't happen.”
The first complaint
The first violation stemmed from Lynne using his city email to contact sponsors of an October National Night Out event he said was promoting District 1 City Council candidate Lupe Gonzales by featuring her as a special guest on its promotional flyer.
The event’s organizer, Loretta Almanza, alleged Lynne used his position as mayor to pressure sponsors to back out of her event, which, as KERA previously reported, resulted in some sponsors briefly dropping support for the event before rejoining.
“The Complaint shows that the Mayor directly contacted sponsors of the National Night Out listed on the flyer and told them the event they were sponsoring was political in nature to dissuade them from participating in a citizen’s event,” a legal analysis by city attorneys said. “He did so as Mayor and in his official capacity. The substance of the emails and texts also appears to contain questionable language from the Mayor while using his official City email and equipment for personal purposes.”
Lynne said in his complaint response that Almanza had made the community event political in order to promote a candidate for city council, and he felt it was his duty to inform sponsors.
“It is the responsibility of all the city’s elected officials to protect the reputation of the city and our community events,” he wrote.
All council members except for Roman voted to reject the complaint. Lynne did not vote on any of the motions.
The second complaint
This complaint was filed by Mayor Pro Tem Tina Bennet-Burton. It’s based on a Human Resources investigation into an incident in which Lynne approached Almanza’s daughter, Jessica Alvarado, about her mom's event during a Sept. 16 council meeting. Alvarado is the city’s recreation superintendent.
She recounted the conversation in a statement to HR where she said she felt disrespected and caught off guard.
“Outside the chambers, the Mayor told me he wanted to let me know that if anything was said during the meeting, it wasn’t directed at me," Alvarado said in the statement. "I responded that I didn’t know what he was referring to. He then said that my mom and [council member] Omar had made a mistake and needed to own up to it.
"Again, I expressed confusion and said I didn’t know what he was talking about.”
Lynne spoke with Alvarado despite City Manager Ben Williamson telling him the week prior not to. Williamson saw the conversation taking place on Sept. 16 and intervened to end it, according to Williamson's interview with HR.
Alvarado told HR she didn't feel her ability to do her job had been affected, but was worried about how conversations with the mayor could be perceived, according to the HR investigation summary.
The investigation also found Lynne has improperly communicated with staff or given them direct orders. In Farmers Branch, and many other cities, only the city manager can give direct orders to staff.
The investigation found that at least three city employees “were put into situations wherein they may have felt obligated or pressured to violate City policy by taking direction from the Mayor," according to the investigation summary.
Interview notes by Jefferey Ross, director of HR for the city, say Williamson has had to correct Lynne’s contact with staff multiple times, resulting in frustration between the two.
“Ben indicated that while the interaction with Jessica was inappropriate, it’s among a larger pattern of the same type of behavior that the Mayor has been coached on repeatedly,” according to Ross’ summary of an interview with Williamson. “This raises the concern for me as employees may be put into situations that would cause them to violate policy or react out of fear or intimidation, which creates exposure for the City and disengagement for the employee.”
In Lynne’s response to the complaint, he expressed frustration with the rules surrounding speaking directly with staff.
“It appears that council members cannot say anything other than ‘hello’ to staff without the fear of reprisal,” he wrote. “But then, a simple ‘hello’ could be taken the wrong way by the recipient and an action filed against a council member.”
Lynne did not deny briefly speaking with Alvarado or being told by Williamson about the rules for giving direction to staff.
“Moving forward, I will avoid any interactions with city employees and furthermore, will insist that the City Manager be present whenever there is an opportunity for a conversation or interaction,” Lynne said.
Lynne did not respond to two requests for comment about the ethics complaints. Williamson also did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the mayor's behavior.
Council members Bennet-Burton and Roman voted against rejecting the complaint.
The third complaint
The third complaint, also filed by Bennet-Burton, alleges Lynne made insensitive comments to a Black audience member at a Sept. 25 Leadership Metrocrest Public Safety Day event.
During a panel discussion at the event between various police department officials, a Black man asked the speakers how he should talk with his children about dealing with racial profiling. Lynne indicated he wanted to give a response, according to a written statement to HR by Farmers Branch Police Chief Kevin McCoy.
“The Mayor then made comments about the importance of teaching respect at home and the need to show respect for law enforcement, as well as the importance of not arguing with police officers,” McCoy wrote. “The class participant, an African-American gentleman, appeared to be a little taken aback by these comments and responded that he does teach respect in his home, stating that he suspects the mayor's children and his own children probably have had different experiences.”
The speakers felt the discussion was causing discomfort in the room, and the panel was ended by organizers, according to McCoy’s statement.
“I felt that the mayor's attempt to give advice to the gentleman who asked the original question created an uncomfortable environment for the other students and came across as slightly accusatory, with some political overtones,” he wrote.
Lynne said in his complaint response he had given the advice many times before and did not believe his statements to be offensive.
“The important thing to remember is to be respectful, don’t mouth off and keep your hands [where] the officer can see them," he wrote in his response. "At the end of the day, that officer wants to get home to his family and you need to get on your way. Attitude doesn’t help.”
He said he was sorry if the comments made city employees at the event feel uncomfortable, and he would “refrain from sharing that information in the future.”
Council members Bennet-Burton and Roman were the only members to vote against rejecting the complaint.
A 'pattern'
The October ethics complaints came after the mayor was already under scrutiny from city officials after a June 9 confrontation with Deputy City Manager Jawaria Tareen.
Lynne allegedly became upset during a phone call with Tareen before telling her he was on his way to the office and hanging up, according to an email Bennet-Burton sent to City Manager Ben Williamson about the situation.
Afterwards, council members Bennet-Burton, Roman, David Reid and City Attorney Nicole Corr were in a conference room when Bennet-Burton heard the mayor enter Tareen's office and slam the door behind him, according to Bennet-Burton's account.
Corr then walked to Tareen's door, found it locked, and knocked until the door was opened, according to Bennet-Burton's email.
"Unprofessional, intimidating, hostile, inappropriate — the list could go on," Bennet-Burton wrote. "This is not the first time staff has been subjected to this behavior, and I hope that with so many witness present, you can now have a more direct conversation with the mayor."
Williamson then wrote back that he talked with Tareen and was disappointed by the situation.
"Unfortunately, the Mayor's behavior has become a pattern that continuously necessitates my intervention, as well as that of the attorneys," Williamson wrote.
He then wrote he will address the situation and make sure Tareen can continue working without distraction or fear.
"These behaviors reverberate throughout the entire City and hurt all staff," he wrote. "While this situation will be addressed, we will likely need the entire Council to be part of the conversation if this pattern does not change."
In a statement, Christian Grisales, the public information officer for Farmers Branch, said the city followed the standard legal procedures when handling the complaints.
Former council member Omar Roman said he was disappointed the council voted to reject the October complaints and hoped the public would come to their own conclusions.
“I think they'll be stunned as I was at the fact that the decision [on Oct. 19] was to reject these complaints,” he said.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Fall news intern. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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