A Bexar County worker final yr filed a federal office discrimination grievance towards County Choose Peter Sakai, alleging he publicly berated her and retaliated towards her over a disagreement, paperwork present.
Bexar County Precinct 4 Constable Kathryn Brown, the primary Black girl to carry that place, filed a U.S. Equal Employment Alternative Fee (EEOC) grievance towards Sakai on April 25, 2025, alleging she and different ladies of colour employed by the county face a hostile office.
Brown’s grievance stems from a purported encounter with the decide 4 days previous to her submitting. She alleges within the doc that Sakai confirmed up at Precinct 4’s satellite tv for pc workplace in Converse, yelling and performing aggressively towards her. One witness cited within the grievance stated he believed the decide was able to bodily strike Brown.
Sakai, who’s locked in a good Democratic main battle towards former San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, informed the Present that he apologized to Brown following the incident and needs to reset the connection.
“For the file, I used no profanities or private insults; nevertheless, I absolutely admit to shedding my endurance and I take full accountability for my conduct,” Sakai stated.
Nirenberg’s marketing campaign declined remark.
The EEOC didn’t instantly reply to the Present’s request to make clear whether or not officers had begun trying into Brown’s grievance.
Within the doc, Brown asserts that Sakai publicly demeaned her and broken her credibility along with her workers.
“These actions had been taken place at my workplace, in entrance of members of the general public and my subordinates, immediately undermining my authority and making a hostile and degrading work setting,” she wrote in her grievance. “I’m bringing this ahead not only for myself, however within the curiosity of equity, fairness, and the integrity of the office we’re all sworn to serve.”
Within the doc, Brown additionally argued that Sakai and his workplace participated in retaliatory conduct following the preliminary incident.
“What is especially troubling is that I’m not alone in experiencing this remedy,” Brown added. “Different elected officers [and] ladies of colour … on this office have additionally endured comparable patterns of hostility, marginalization, and public disrespect. Which factors to a broader, systemic challenge that displays bias and discrimination primarily based not solely on gender but additionally on race. It’s unacceptable, and it calls for accountability.
The grievance
The EEOC submitting maintains that Sakai burst into Bexar County’s Precinct 4’s satellite tv for pc workplace on April 21 of final yr, yelling and demanding a gathering with Brown. Cedric Wade, Brown’s assistant chief, escorted Sakai to a convention room to satisfy along with her, in line with allegations within the doc.
“Choose Sakai began very angrily and loudly yelling at her and he was so upset and he obtained up from the desk in a really aggressive trend as if to hit her, nonetheless yelling at her and pointing his proper pointer finger and hand in her face, violently yelling at her,” Wade wrote in a witness assertion included within the grievance.
In one other assertion accompanying the federal submitting, Precinct 4 County Commissioner Calvert alleged that Sakai’s outburst stemmed from ongoing disagreements with Brown over safety and staffing on the new Precinct 4 workplace.
“There had been an pointless tug-of-war over whether or not to supply extra safety for the brand new Precinct 4 satellite tv for pc workplace,” Calvert wrote. “Beforehand, Precinct 4 didn’t have a satellite tv for pc workplace however merely an area that housed the magistrate and the Constables’ workplaces. The earlier constructing was 11,000 sq. ft and the brand new constructing is 32,000 sq. ft — triple the scale.”
Calvert informed the Present in a telephone name that he wasn’t current within the room when Sakai met with Brown. Nevertheless, he stated he the shouting was loud sufficient that it bled via the wall.
“I couldn’t imagine what I used to be listening to,” Calvert added.
Ramon Chapa Jr., who labored as Calvert’s neighborhood engagement director on the time of Brown’s grievance, additionally supplied a witness assertion. He alleged Sakai’s look on the satellite tv for pc workplace prompt the decide actively sought a confrontation with the constable.
“For [Sakai] to return all the way in which from his downtown workplace, along with his complete workers, and armed government safety workforce, he was on the lookout for a battle,” Chapa wrote.
In his assertion to the Present, Sakai stated he misplaced his mood as a result of Brown was refusing to provide bailiffs and extra safety on the Precinct 4 workplace, which he stated was regarding as as acts of political violence continued to rise throughout the nation.
“We clearly maintain very completely different views in direction of fulfilling our tasks; nevertheless, that doesn’t excuse my response,” Sakai stated. “It was unprofessional. I take accountability and would welcome a chance to reset the connection.”
What’s subsequent
Brown’s grievance surfaces as Sakai enters the house stretch for a main marketing campaign more likely to decide the general winner of the election. In blue Bexar, it’s unlikely cultural conservative Patrick Von Dohlen, the lone Republican candidate for the county’s high elected place, will achieve traction on the polls in November.
The the EEOC submitting isn’t the one potential setback Sakai has confronted because the clock ticks down on the first.
Early this month, the decide took warmth for flip-flopping on his assist of Challenge Marvel, the huge downtown sports-and-entertainment advanced that may embody a taxpayer-funded Spurs enviornment.
Days later, studies surfaced that Sakai fired his former communications director, Jim Lefko, over allegations the spokesman despatched inappropriate texts to the writer of the San Antonio Observer. Lefko has stated the messages had been “misconstrued.”
Then, roughly per week in the past, the Texas Legal professional Common’s Election Integrity Division served a search warrant to JoAnn Ramon, a political marketing consultant who did work for Sakai’s marketing campaign. Ramon has confronted earlier inquiries from the AG’s workplace through which she denied wrongdoing. She’s by no means been charged in these circumstances.
Early voting within the Democratic main runs now via Friday, Feb. 27. The Bexar County Elections Division’s web site affords data on polling areas and hours of operation.
Polls will reopen on Election Day, March 3.
Signal Up for SA Present newsletters.
Observe us: Apple Information | Google Information | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Fb | Twitter | Or join our RSS Feed
Associated Tales
At one level, the controversy elicited giggles from the viewers, though it’s unclear which candidate they had been laughing at — maybe each.
Nirenberg, who’s operating for Bexar County Choose, additionally talked concerning the controversy surrounding San Antonio’s rainbow crosswalk throughout the rally over the weekend.
The Bexar County decide terminated his communications director in December, saying he wouldn’t ‘enable that conduct from anybody within the county.’
