George Mathewson City council’s push to contain the authority of Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley has been extended to his emails and phone calls. Municipal employees have been instructed to direct their communication with the mayor through Coun.
George Mathewson
City council’s push to contain the authority of Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley has been extended to his emails and phone calls.
Municipal employees have been instructed to direct their communication with the mayor through Coun. Anne Marie Gillis.
Likewise, all of the mayor’s communication to city staff must also first go through the councillor, with copies sent to acting city manager Andre Morin
Council is moving forward on the creation of a deputy mayor’s position, and Gillis has been cited as the most likely councillor to fill the position.
The directive was approved at a closed-door council meeting on Oct. 6 and outlined in an Oct. 18 memo from Jamie Knight, a partner in the law firm hired to oversee workplace harassment complaints at City Hall.
City staff were being notified this week. If Bradley attempts to contact them they are to tell the mayor to go through Gillis and promptly notify the acting city manager, the memo states.
Human resources lawyer Lauren Bernardi recently released the results of an investigation in which she found Bradley had repeatedly harassed and bullied four senior administrators: current city manager Margaret Misek-Evans, former planning director Jane Cooper, former city clerk Nancy Wright-Laking and former parks and recreation director Beth Gignac.
Council has also restricted Bradley’s City Hall access to normal business hours. The mayor, who is well known for working evenings and weekends, discovered he’d been locked out Oct. 8 after bringing a visiting teacher from Norway to City Hall to sign a guest book.
Councillors say the access code restriction is necessary because they have an obligation to protect the safety of municipal staff.
A report from the city’s integrity commissioner in June came to a similar conclusion about Bradley’s ill treatment of two city administrators, prompting council to dock his pay for 90 days.
Council is scheduled to meet on Monday, Oct. 24. The Bernardi report and other possible next steps are on the agenda.
