Troy Shantz and George Mathewson
Former city councillor Matt Mitro has filed a complaint with Sarnia’s integrity commissioner accusing Mayor Mike Bradley and three council members of violating Sarnia’s Code of Conduct, The Journal has learned.
The filing includes an affidavit signed by Mitro on Feb. 28 and a lengthy list of incidents in which the local businessman claims Bradley violated the Code between May of 2017 and the present.
Councillors Margaret Bird, Bill Dennis and David Boushy are also alleged to have breached the Code since last fall’s election.
The documents given to the IC include a 37-page list of 182 “exhibits” citing council meetings and media coverage in which the mayor and councillors allegedly breached the Code.
Many of the complaints pertain to the mayor’s leadership, conduct at meetings, and treatment of staff.
The last Code of Conduct complaint to be upheld in Sarnia was in May of 2017 when former integrity commissioner Robert Swayze found the mayor had harassed the city clerk and challenged her authority.
Swayze’s contract was not renewed and Feb. 28 was his last day as the city’s integrity commissioner. Paul Watson replaced him on March 1, and it is Watson who will consider the complaint, Clerk Dianne Gould-Brown confirmed.
Mitro said he filed the complaint because Bradley hasn’t changed.
“The mayor is pretending he is renewed. He said he’s been ‘St. Michael’ for the last two years,” said Mitro, who sought a second term last fall and was not re-elected.
“I want good things to happen. I want him to be his best self and be a good mayor… that’s all I want going forward. I want a discussion amongst Sarnians about what happened here.”
When contacted, Mayor Bradley said he was unaware a complaint had been filed and had no comment to make about a document he hasn’t seen.