A request for a public apology from a councillor and the mayor for comments made during a special City of Powell River finance committee meeting on November 3 was not granted by the two council members.
At the November 30 committee of the whole meeting, councillors reviewed correspondence from Pat Martin, who expressed that she felt impugned by comments made by councillor Maggie Hathaway and mayor Dave Formosa. The comments related to a Facebook post by Martin regarding the financial health of the city.
In her correspondence, Martin stated that at the finance committee meeting, Hathaway and Formosa chose to single her out by referencing a Facebook comment and questioning her credentials to make comments on financial matters.
“An apology is requested because their conduct was inconsistent with the key foundational principles of local government: integrity, accountability, respect, leadership and collaboration,” stated Martin. “Councillor Hathaway’s and mayor Formosa’s comments were undignified, lacked understanding and were disrespectful.”
At the committee of the whole meeting, Hathaway said she had reviewed her comments online and wrote them out.
“I see nothing that I have to apologize for,” said Hathaway. “She [Martin] brought something forward, a legitimate question in a public venue. I repeated the question to get the answer and that’s the end of it for me. There won’t be a public apology.”
Mayor Dave Formosa did not comment on the correspondence.
The committee voted unanimously to note and file the correspondence.
In a written response to the decision, Martin stated: “The letter was a request, not a demand, for a public apology and was for their improper conduct. They referenced a Facebook comment without putting it into context. Councillor Hathaway chose to ignore the question of their breaching key foundation principles of local government (integrity, accountability, respect, leadership and collaboration).
“In particular, the foundation principles require that government officials behave in a manner that promotes public confidence in local government. Cherry picking a phrase from social media, including my name, and then integrating it into a finance committee meeting is improper conduct. Councillor Hathaway’s comment was a cheap shot that added nothing to the item under discussion at the finance committee meeting.”
