The integrity commissioner has received a new complaint about Councillor Jim Handley’s conduct, but after an investigation, he has decided to dismiss the case.
Now, Councillor Handley wants the commissioner to go public with the complaint so he can clear his name.
“We’ve had three previous times where council members or the mayor have had complaints filed against them and it was not sustained but yet the public was notified about it,” Councillor Handley said, during Tuesday's city council meeting. “But now that it’s Jim Handley, they want to keep it secret for some reason.”
This is not the first time Councillor Handley has been investigated by the integrity commissioner. Previously, Councillor Handley was found guilty of misconduct in three separate investigations. The results of those cases were publicized, which is why Councillor Handley also wants it to be known when no wrongdoing has been found.
During last night's city council meeting, Councillor Handley put a motion on the floor to amend the city’s current complaint protocol, so that the integrity commissioner has to make every complaint public, even if an investigation found no wrongdoing.
“The taxpayers need to know what’s going on in the municipality,” Councillor Handley said. “You got to take the good with the bad.”
The proposal saw support from several councillors.
“If a member of council can get humiliated, then why can’t a member of council at least have the opportunity to stand up and say, 'Somebody filed a complaint against me and I did nothing wrong,'” said Councillor Anthony Longo.
During a council meeting on September 10, council went behind closed doors to receive legal advice on the matter. That advice was to not amend the current complaint protocol, which is why some councillors had a hard time going along with Councillor Handley’s motion.
“This is not a Jim Handley problem,” said Councillor Ken Sentance. “With all respect to you, this is not doing something to you here. That’s what we were advised and, I believe, he said there is only one other community that does this in Ontario and he would think about not taking the job if we did this.”
But the legal advice also got push back from others.
“Why would any other councillor care,” said Councillor Longo. “He wants to bring it forward to clear his name, because his name has been dragged through the mud a number of times.”
Councillor Henry D’Angela proposed that the complaint protocol be amended to leave it up to the councillor in question, if they want a dismissed complaint against them publicized.
“It seems like a one-way-street, when it should be both ways when people are out there making vexatious claims against individual councillors,” he said. “We all have enemies to a certain degree and this is how they can do it anonymously and that’s not right. There should be some ramification and the councillor should be exonerated.”
Councillor Handley decided to amend his motion, to leave it up to the individual councillor in question to make a complaint public.
When it came to a vote, that motion was approved 5 - 4.
Councillors Handley, Longo, D’Angela, Carmen DeRose and Mike De Divitiis all voted to amend the current complaint protocol.
Councillors Sentance, Nella Dekker, Tim O’Hare and Mayor Terry Ugulini voted against.
Now it is up to the integrity commissioner to come forward with the unsustained complaint about Councillor Handley’s conduct.
