Head of Legislative Services at the City of Airdrie Sharon Pollyck confirmed one complaint was received at the City regarding Deputy Mayor Allan Hunter launching a petition in early January, calling on Airdrie MLA Rob Anderson to resign after he crossed the floor to join the Progressive Conservative Party.
“The complaint was that the petition had been undertaken, and there was a perception that it was a City petition,” Pollyck said.
“Because it’s really not a City initiative, and it would be inappropriate for the City to undertake really any form of petition, we provided clarification to the complainant that it was not a City initiative. It was done by the people involved acting in their capacity as private citizens,” she said.
According to Pollyck, all members of City council are required to sign and abide by Ethical Guidelines of Conduct. These guidelines, in part, read: “the proper operation of democratic local government requires that elected officials be independent, impartial and duly responsible to the people. To this end, it is imperative that: government decisions and policy be made through the proper channels of government structure; public office not be used for personal gain; and the public have confidence in the integrity of its government.”
Hunter said he was circulating the petition as a private citizen, not as deputy mayor and that he was not involved in the petition for personal gain.
In light of Anderson’s announcement- that he would not seek re-election in the next provincial election - Hunter said on Jan. 7 he would not be putting “more effort into getting more signatures.”
The announcement came three-and-a-half weeks after Anderson, the former Wildrose deputy leader of the Official Opposition and finance critic, crossed the floor along with eight other Wildrose Party members to join the Progressive Conservatives (PCs) on Dec. 17, 2014. He previously crossed the floor from the PCs to join the Wildrose in 2010.
“An elected official doesn’t lose their rights as a citizen. If they are signing (documents or correspondence) with their title, then you could make an assumption they are doing it within that capacity. Sometimes, it may be done unknowingly,” Pollyck said. “My understanding is that Deputy Mayor Hunter was pretty clear that he was involved in this as a private citizen.”
Mayor Peter Brown told the Airdrie City View on Jan. 7 that Hunter’s launching of the petition was a private initiative.
“Obviously the City and the rest of council have nothing to do with his initiative,” Brown said. “I’m a person that’s a firm believer in the right of freedom of speech and certainly (Hunter’s) taken that to heart.”
“Is he breaching his authority or his mandate as deputy mayor or alderman? I’ve had very few calls personally about it. I’ve given him my advice but it’s up to him whether he takes it or not,” Brown added.
Airdrie resident Kevin Hughes said he decided to file a complaint with the City via their website because he felt Hunter should not be involved in circulating a petition in response to the actions of another elected official.
“I think when you have the privilege to be elected to municipal office it comes with a certain expected code of conduct and when you are out in the public whether (on) social media or doing interviews you must realize you represent the City with everything you say and do,” he said in a private message sent to the Airdrie City View via Twitter.
“I think it is very wrong for an alderman to be attempting to unseat a MLA as it reflects negatively on the City,” he said. “What would he do if the next MLA tried to force him to resign?”
Hughes said while he was “disgusted” when Anderson crossed the floor, he also feels Hunter overstepped by circulating the recall petition, even if Hunter was acting as a private citizen, not in his capacity as Deputy Mayor.
“You can’t choose to differentiate between the two. You are an elected official, period. You can’t pick and choose,” he said.
Hughes said he plans to attend the next meeting of Airdrie City council on Jan. 19 and will ask for a copy of the code of conduct issued to council members.
According to Pollyck, a municipality is not responsible for the actions of elected officials, because those officials are not hired by the City but elected by the public.
“One of the biggest things to remember about elected officials is that at the end of the day, they are responsible to the electorate. It’s the public that is expected to sanction elected officials and how they do that is when they go to the polls, they either elect somebody or they don’t,” she said.
“The Province in their legislation really tries to take a step back, saying it’s the people who elected this council or this legislature or this parliament so who are we as a government to mess with that?”
Because of this, Pollyck said the electorate would need to use its votes to deal with a member of council they felt was acting inappropriately, citing the example of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford who remained in office despite serious allegations and admissions of drug use.
“To my knowledge, I’m not aware of any member of Airdrie City council facing sanctions in my 25 years with the City,” Pollyck said.
“It’s pretty hard for the council to do anything. I’m not sure what they could or would do since it would typically be a conversation between council (members) behind closed doors. Staff really shouldn’t be involved in that.”
Hunter could not be reached for comment as of press time.
