Richmond Hill councillor taking town, integrity commissioner to court

Karen Cilevitz wants sanctions against her overturned

Yorkregion.com
January 28, 2019
Sheila Wang

Richmond Hill Ward 5 Coun. Karen Cilevitz has launched legal challenges against the Town of Richmond Hill and the town’s integrity commissioner over decisions regarding a code of conduct complaint.

Cilevitz filed two separate court applications a month after council voted Dec. 17, 2018 to suspend her pay for 90 days following an integrity commissioner’s report that found the councillor breached the code of conduct by bullying and intimidating Steffi Goodfield, a Richmond Hill resident.

Council also agreed to offer a grant -- in an amount equal to the suspended funds -- to Goodfield for the purpose of promoting music in town.

Cilevitz is seeking to overturn the penalty imposed on her and the grant toward Goodfield in the two applications, according to court documents obtained by yorkregion.com.

On Jan. 15, the councillor filed the first application to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against the Corporation of the Town of Richmond Hill under the Municipal Act, seeking to quash two council decisions in regards to Goodfield’s complaint under the code of conduct. An earlier complaint by Goodfield was dismissed by the former integrity commissioner.

Council voted on July 9, 2018 to pass a motion recommending Goodfield’s second complaint be referred to the town’s new integrity commissioner for a report and recommendation.

In the application, Cilevitz says that the town acted “unreasonably and arbitrarily” in approving this motion, which was put forward by Ward 2 Coun. Tom Muench, two months after Goodfield’s second complaint was filed.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

The council decision was in violation of the town’s code of conduct, which prohibits complaints from being referred to the integrity commissioner for review or investigation after May 31 in an election year, it adds.

“Councillor Muench instigated the filing of the second complaint as a retaliation and reprisal for the applicant’s successful code complaint against him,” the document says.

The former integrity commissioner found Muench in breach of the code in May 2018 after Cilevitz filed a complaint against him for his “abusive treatment of her,” as yorkregion.com previously reported.

“The purpose of the second complaint was electoral expediency or gain. It was crafted, politicized and communicated and may be, and seen to be, wholly political,” the application notes, pointing out that Cilevitz was seeking re-election at the time.

Muench responded in a phone interview on Jan. 24 that he made the motion because he believes a public official should be acting "at a higher standard than a regular adult."

 "I appreciate that people want to make a connection," Muench said. "I was not vindictive in any shape or form. I gave her numerous and numerous and numerous chances to do the responsible thing."

The application also states that the council decision on Dec. 17, 2018, which directed a grant toward Goodfield, was beyond council's authority because a sanction in the form of a grant of the suspended funds was not one of the options available under the Municipal Act.

It was passed “in bad faith,” the application continues.

Words such as “bad faith” and “political forces” also appear in the second application, which Cilevitz filed to the Divisional Court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Jan. 16 against the Corporation of the Town of Richmond Hill and the integrity commissioner.

Filed on similar grounds, it is seeking a judicial review of the integrity commissioner’s report released on Nov. 13, 2018 and the council decision on the sanctions against Cilevitz on Dec. 17, 2019.

The application indicates that a breach of the code of conduct has made the commissioner's report void as the integrity commissioner misinterpreted the code on the complaint submission deadlines.

The code of conduct requires complaints to be submitted “within six weeks of the matter becoming known to the individual…,” but Goodfield’s second complaint was filed more than four months after it became fully known to her as early as January 2018, the documents say.

In the application, Cilevitz also states the integrity commissioner breached the doctrines of res judicata by taking actions on Goodfield’s second complaint after her first one, which was “in substance no different” has been decided and dismissed by her predecessor.

Both court factums give an account of Cilevitz’s relationships and interactions with Goodfield as well as other parties involved in the year-long dispute.

Cilevitz and Goodfield had been friends through music and local community events for years. In March 2017, the councillor helped raise roughly $30,000 to help Goodfield battle breast cancer, the court documents say.

Their relationship went sour in December 2017 when a local musician, Matthew Bergman, sent threatening Facebook messages to Cilevitz and her partner, also a musician. Bergman claimed Cilevitz’s partner had been bullying Goodfield, who is the founder of York Region Open Mic, hosting open mic events at various local venues, according to the documents.

Cilevitz left a “strongly worded voice mail for Goodfield” on Jan. 25, 2018 to remove the “Ward 5” from the name of an event Goodfield was hosting after attempting to connect with her by text and email.

“ … be advised Steffi, that if you in any way, or Bergman in any way calls your Sunday night jam at Archibald’s The Ward 5 event, there is going to be serious problems that you are both going to have to deal with legally. Nobody does this. It’s just not done. Only councillors who are elected to wards use that terminology …” Cilevitz said in the voice mail.

The voice mail, along with many other emails and texts were submitted in the complaint that Goodfield first filed under the code of conduct on April. 24, 2018. Former integrity commissioner Nigel Bellchamber dismissed it on the basis that it “had no merit.”

“Upon reflection, these communications were aggressive and an error in judgment on the part of the applicant,” the lawsuit says. “However, the applicant did not send them to abuse, bully or intimate Goodfield, but rather to address what she viewed as a time sensitive and important issue.”

On May 31, Cilevitz issued a written explanation and apology to Goodfield on multiple social media sites regarding the voice mails and messages.

A day before, Goodfield filed the second complaint.

The following month, Debora Anschell was named the town’s new integrity commissioner. She received the second complaint and found Cilevitz in breach of the code.

The application points out that Bergman has been attempting to “discredit and smear” Cilevitz through various media attacks since mid-May 2018, after he revealed his plan to “bring down” Cilevitz and her partner.

The councillor launched a $500,000 libel lawsuit against Bergman in June 2018, as yorkregion.com reported.

“These matters are now before the courts,” said Cilevitz. “As a result, I cannot comment any further. The legally filed documents adequately speak for themselves and I therein place my faith and trust in my legal counsel and our judicial system.”

The Town of Richmond Hill has declined to comment because the matter is before the courts.