Stephen Devlin, owner of Stevie Go Go, shares the origins of his conflict with Dennis, which began three years ago.
"When I was proposing the by-law, I came to him for help," said Devlin, seeking guidance on passing by-laws. "He was great and then five minutes before I was going to Zoom in to present, I messaged him and asked him if I could thank him or if it was a conflict of interest. I just wanted to make sure it was ok to thank him."
Devlin said Dennis responded, "I can't support this. This is about three years away."
Devlin presented to Council regardless. "I got approved and then he sent me a text saying 'Congratulations. Unanimously approved.' And I said, 'don't text me again.' I don't work like that."
He added that Dennis later began sharing posts about Stevie Go Go on social media. "He was acting like we were friends and I called him out on it. I told him 'Bill, we are not friends, you're acting like we are partners almost.'"
Devlin recounts his next interaction with Dennis, which occurred when Dennis called him from Muskoka while Devlin was in St. John with his wife.
"He was stuttering and apologizing, and he didn't know what I was talking about. He said he must not have known it was me," said Devlin, adding that he responded, "It's over. Water under the bridge."
Dennis said he would "make it up" to him, but Devlin told him he "didn't have to."
Devlin noted that Dennis continued sharing his posts on social media, but he remained indifferent. When The Journal published the article "Stevie Go Go says bye-bye to Sarnia", Dennis made a post stating that these situations wouldn't happen when he is Mayor in 2026.
Devlin explains he commented, "Why 2026? I need action now," highlighting that others, including George Vanderberg, Chrissy MacRoberts, and Michelle Stockley, had already taken action.
"That’s all it was," Devlin said, explaining events before videos surfaced on Reddit over the weekend. "All the videos happened after that."
Devlin added that this occurred about five days before Dennis’ latest outburst at the Council meeting.