By this time, anyone who pays attention to what happens at city hall knows that Coun. Bill Dennis upended another council meeting Monday with personal verbal attacks directed at the mayor and other council members.
He was repeatedly warned that he was out of order by both Mayor Mike Bradley and Coun. Anne Marie Gillis. Coun. Adam Kilner and Coun. Chrissy McRoberts tried to intervene and settle Coun. Dennis down, but to no avail.
The more he was warned, the hotter Coun. Dennis got.
As a journalist covering Sarnia council for the better part of 25 years, I’ve never seen anything like it.
For the second time in five months, Coun. Dennis’ inability to follow protocol or treat his fellow politicians with respect, created so much havoc that the city’s business was abruptly halted.
It was obvious that Coun. Dennis feels disrespected and was determined to air his many grievances in public. It is clear that there are personal issues between him and other members of council. But airing them in council chambers is wrong. Full stop.
Coun. Dennis isn’t the first Sarnia politician to have personal issues with other council members. It’s happened many times over the years. But this is the first time a councillor has repeatedly interrupted council business to hash it out publicly.
Coun. Dennis’ behaviour is not just inappropriate. It’s embarrassing for the entire municipality. Political behaviour like this gets a lot of attention from outsiders, including from investors who might be considering spending money here and creating jobs. For a politician who purports to be pro-business, Coun. Dennis’ behaviour could easily be a big turn-off for anyone serious about relocating to Sarnia-Lambton. Don’t forget, he’s a Lambton County councillor too.
The real question today is what should happen when one member of council threatens to throw a meeting into the kind of chaos witnessed Monday.
Mayor Bradley tried unsuccessfully to shut Coun. Dennis down by telling him he was out of order. Coun. Adam Kilner tried to get everyone back on track by reminding them that the debate at hand was actually about new emergency measures at city hall. He asked Coun. Dennis to “depersonalize” his comments.
But nothing helped.
A discussion about developing an emergency plan quickly escalated into a tirade from Coun. Dennis. He accused the mayor of slandering him on television. He insisted security in council chambers was unjustifiably being discussed because of him.
“I am here to talk about emergency protocol, not everybody’s baggage,” Coun. Kilner said in a last-ditch effort to right the ship.
“I was elected…not to combat fellow councillors, not to combat citizens…I am here because I want to make things work, so I really don’t appreciate anybody going after anybody in these chambers,” Coun. Kilner said.
Coun. Dennis wouldn’t listen.
He took aim at Bradley, accusing the mayor of being “terrified” of an election where Coun. Dennis would compete for his job.
“This is really upsetting. We are here to talk about security measures,” Mayor Bradley responded.
Coun. Dennis attempted to interrupt again but Coun. Gillis jumped in to say the mayor had the floor.
The mayor quickly got a motion approved that prematurely ended the meeting.
Several councillors have already suggested they’d prefer it if Coun. Dennis was ejected for his behaviour and council was able to continue its business.
I’d say that’s not a bad idea, but I don’t think Coun. Dennis would have left the chamber. He seemed that angry. After the meeting broke up, he walked over to me and said he had no respect for anyone on council.
“Isn’t the job of a councillor to work as part of a team for the betterment of the city?” I asked him. “Bill, are you able to work with the rest of council?”
“…They don’t know what the hell they’re doing,” he replied.
This is the second time Coun. Dennis made his personal vendettas more important than the business of the city, I pointed out to him.
“So what?” he replied. “These guys need a good swift kick in the ass.”
That level of disrespect is a problem. Like it or not, city councillors have to operate collaboratively if anything is going to get done in chambers.
As far as I can tell, Coun. Dennis seems to be a team of one.