Medicine Hat Mayor Linnsie Clark was stripped of her powers and half of her salary after council claimed she broke code of conduct rules in a tense exchange with the city manager last year.
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Medicine Hat city council released a joint statement Friday to reassure residents that council will continue operating.
“We acknowledge that these sanctions have raised questions and concerns within our community,” reads the statement.
“Our foremost priority today is to reassure the residents of Medicine Hat that the business of Council will proceed smoothly and efficiently, without any disruption.”
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Council next meets in public for a committee-of-the-whole meeting that will kick off the upcoming budget cycle. That meeting takes place at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
Mayor Clark said Thursday she is looking into legal options going forward. She will still be able to vote at council meetings but she will not chair the meeting.
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Mayor Linnsie Clark’s term is over, according to a former councillor who served a combined eight years on council.
With her powers stripped away, Phil Turnbull said the mayor should step aside.
“Mayor Linnsie Clark cannot recover from that,” Turnbull told CHAT News, adding he doesn’t believe Clark can get re-elected based on that.
“If she was truly interested in the wellbeing and the hearts and mids of our citizens, she would resign and let someone else see if they can put council back together and get our city moving forward,” Turnbull added.
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The sanctions on Mayor Clark came after council accepted a third-party investigation by Kingsgate Legal and found the mayor broke its code of conduct.
Coun. Andy McGrogan, the only member of council to speak publicly since the sanctions were put in place, said Thursday the report would be released in accordance with Alberta’s freedom of information laws once it has gone through a redaction process.
Once the report is released to the public, CHAT News will have more information.
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A Medicine Hat political scientist says the actions taken by city council to sanction Mayor Clark are without precedent and have the effect of nullifying her election.
Jim Groom said Friday he’s seen the province step in and dissolve entire councils, but nothing where a council has independently handed out punishment without a public hearing to address the issues.
Groom said the fact the vote was unanimous is also concerning and feels their action was somewhat Draconian.
But Groom believes the sanctions are likely the tip of the iceberg following a long period of frosty relations between the mayor, the council and administration.
“I’ve never seen anything so drastic,” Groom said.
Groom said there is nothing Clark can do in terms of recourse at council but there could be a way forward through the court system.
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Council’s move to strip the mayor’s powers sends a message, said Paul Salvatore, CEO and founder of Municipal Experts Inc.
“What you see here is definitely a strong action on the part of council to curtail certain behavior,” Salvatore told CHAT News.
“But, it also sets the tone for the expectations that council have for each other around the table,” he added.
“It identifies and underscores the importance of respect across the board, whether that be with members of council or members of administration.”
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This is a developing story. More details to follow.
