Residents baffled by mysterious flyers asking Coun. Karen Cilevitz to resign following guilty plea

‘The recent flyer and related website are vicious propaganda meant to harm me politically,’ Cilevitz says

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 11, 2022
Sheila Wang

When Karen Cilevitz pleaded guilty to fraud under $5,000 in July, the Richmond Hill councillor who is permitted to retain her seat on council said she would leave the big decision whether to run again to the public.

A few weeks later, an anonymous glossy paper flyer started circulating in Ward 5, calling for Cilevitz’s resignation, which left many residents baffled.

On one side of the letter-sized, double-sided flyer, in bright red, it states: “Karen Cilevitz convicted of defrauding Richmond Hill taxpayers” next to the councillor’s photo and above a picture of handcuffs, and on the other side it prints the web address for a “petition” karenresign.com at the bottom.

“It is an obviously inflammatory offensive flyer,” a longtime Ward 5 resident Colleen Bolton said. “I do not appreciate this type of communication. I do want responsible information to help me form my intelligent opinion about my elected representative.”

Bolton is one of many residents in Ward 5 who have received the flyers since July. She said the flyer came to her house through Canada Post on Aug. 3, which appeared to have used expensive paper and didn’t identify the source.

“The recent flyer and related website are vicious propaganda meant to harm me politically,” Coun. Cilevitz told the Liberal, noting the website was not a “petition” and had no good intention.

The councillor is currently serving a three-month conditional sentence after pleading guilty to fraud under $5,000 on July 11 in Newmarket court.

The Crown has withdrawn the original allegations against Cilevitz and her spouse Derek Christie. The councillor has also voluntarily paid back full restitution to the City of Richmond Hill.

Enacted in 2001, Ontario’s Municipal Act does not require the removal of a council member for a criminal conviction alone. A member of council or a mayor who is serving a penal sentence may be removed from office on the ground of being ineligible to vote in a municipal election.

Mayor David West said the upcoming election on Oct. 24 will be "the best time for the voters to decide this matter and who they want as their elected representative.”

Richmond Hill residents have shared mixed views about Cilevitz’s criminal conviction in July -- some finding her wrongdoing as an elected official hard to forgive and some supporting her for owning up to the mistake, given the circumstances.

Cilevitz said she is grateful for the supportive emails and messages she has received, noting “the overwhelming majority” requested that she should run for a third term this October.

“Isn’t it enough she repaid the town in full?” resident Roxiane Engineer asked. “Isn't it enough that she has suffered a conviction as a result of their double standards and endless persecution?”

Engineer said the flyers were part of a “distasteful” campaign to discredit Cilevitz in an attempt to sway Ward 5 residents.

Heather Sirrs, a Ward 5 resident, said she believed Cilevitz should not seek re-election, because the councillor made “a conscious choice to circumvent the rules.”

“This is an unpopular opinion with many of your friends and supporters, many of whom I share common views and values,” Sirrs wrote in her email to the councillor, shared with the Liberal.

The resident noted she “disliked” the nature of the flyers and especially their anonymity.

Who is behind the flyers and karenresign.com?

Cilevitz said the domain owner of the website “has ties to a small group of organized detractors bent on removing me from council, begging the question, ‘For what sinister purpose?’”

The domain was registered on July 23 and was then updated on July 29 by Robert Davis, who is associated with an organization called Campaign Solutions, according to an online domain lookup service.

Davis did not respond to repeated media inquiries.

While his registered address traces back to a rental apartment building in Toronto, Davis is no stranger to the political world of Richmond Hill.

In 2013, Davis was reportedly helping a controversial group called Richmond Hill Watchdog Committee, which had sent mass-mailed flyers across Richmond Hill targeting then mayor Dave Barrow and regional councillors Vito Spatafora and Brenda Hogg.

Davis’ email address -- the same one listed as in the contact information for the domain of karenresign.com -- was listed for the domain of the watchdog committee’s website.

Davis’ Twitter profile identifies him as principal of Campaign Solutions Inc. and Rob Davis & Associates.

Rob Davis & Associates was also listed as the registrant for stopbadplanning.com, a website featuring Regional Coun. Carmine Perrelli’s 2013 campaign to stop The Hub housing project.

Perrelli said he has neither received nor seen this flyer, stating “Residents are entitled to express their opinions and to participate in democracy.”