Free speech questions raised by ethics agency’s sanctions on senator, former County Judge
Austin Sen. Sarah Eckhardt was admonished for wearing a pink knitted hat during a commissioners meeting and making a joke about Gov. Abbott’s paralysis.
AUSTIN In a rare decision, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct has taken disciplinary action against Sen. Sarah Eckhardt for actions dating back to her time as Travis County Judge, raising questions about free speech for county judges.
The public admonition, as first reported by the Austin American-Statesman, noted that Eckhardt wore a pink knitted “pussy hat” a key symbol of women’s rights in 2017 that also referenced President Donald Trump’s leaked remarks about grabbing a woman’s genitals while presiding over a commissioners court meeting.