Austin ethics commission finds reasonable grounds in complaint against Councilmember Mike Siegel

The Austin Ethics Review Commission on March 26 voted unanimously that there are reasonable grounds to believe a violation of the city—s campaign finance rules may have occurred in a complaint filed by Adam Haines against Councilmember Mike Siegel, and the matter will proceed to a final hearing.

Acting Chair Wynn Stanton Adams opened the preliminary hearing, describing the issue as whether "reasonable grounds exist to believe that a violation of a city code provision within the jurisdiction of the ethics review commission has occurred." Complainant Adam Haines presented his 10-minute statement and alleged multiple reporting errors and unreported contributions in Siegel's campaign filings, saying the filings showed "at least 6 instances where Mr. Siegel...has violated various parts of the campaign finance laws." Haines said corrected reports were later filed but argued those corrections did not comply with the city code's…