Shila Sharps says all processes were followed in PR advisor hiring / Photo: CHAT News Today

By Meghan Cobb

City councillor addresses transparency around PR advisor’s hiring

Jun 27, 2022 | 5:02 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Medicine Hat’s mayor and city council have a new public relations advisor.

Rachel St. Jean was recently hired to fill the role and will report to the chief of staff who has yet to be hired. St. Jean was involved with Linnsie Clark’s bid for mayor, handling some of her social media.

St. Jean’s hiring led one candidate who ran unsuccessfully in the last election to question the accountability of the hiring, asking if there was a conflict of interest.

Coun. Shila Sharps is the chair of the Council Employee Committee. She was part of the hiring committee and says this process was no different than it is for any other city employee.

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Sharps says about 30 people applied for the position. The city’s human resources team then reviewed resumes, shortlisted six candidates and performed phone screens. The top three applicants were then interviewed by the HR manager, Sharps and Clark, but Clark wasn’t part of St. Jean’s interview.

“It went from 30 to three,” explains Sharps. “So we got involved at the three.”

Sharps says St. Jean was the right person for the job and the mayor wasn’t given the opportunity to vote on the hire.

“I’m never not going to hire somebody because they had a two-month working relationship in a contract position,” says Sharps. “In this particular event, the right person for the job just happened to do two months for the mayor.”

Sharps disagrees with anyone questioning the transparency of the hiring, saying transparency doesn’t mean the public gets to know an HR process.

“Was it transparent to the point that every other position is?” Sharps asks. “The answer is yes. It shouldn’t be less, that would be a problem, and it shouldn’t be more because that would also be a problem. That would be saying ‘we’re scared that our processes aren’t good enough, let’s adapt our processes.'”

Sharps says the city’s hiring processes are very stringent and were followed with the PR advisor position.

“What I would say is are you asking this on every position hired by the city, or just this one?” says Sharps.

Sharps says St. Jean got the job on her merit and anyone who doesn’t trust the hire should direct their questions to council rather than question St. Jean’s ability to do the job.

“If you want to call me non-transparent that’s one thing,” adds Sharps. “But nobody did that. What they did was question the transparency of the hiring process by saying it’s because she was the mayor’s social media person.”

St. Jean will work closely with the chief of staff to draft communications and craft messaging from council. Sharps says the position will help councillors manage the demand for information.

“We need some help, how do we communicate out to the public, and how do we do it so we’re all kind of doing it together but with our own touch,” says Sharps. “I don’t want somebody speaking for me, I want me to speak and maybe somebody to refine it that’s a lot better at that.”