Coun. Kehoe unrepentant, despite integrity verdict

Simcoe.com
Aug. 14, 2014
Frank Matys

Patrick Kehoe remains defiant in the face of a report that found he and two other councillors breached Orillia’s code of conduct.

Kehoe described the complaint that spawned the integrity commissioner’s investigation as a “witch hunt” and made no apologies for his interactions with a developer pursuing a city recreation project on West Street.

“If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t have changed a thing,” said Kehoe.

Yet integrity commissioner Suzanne Craig is calling on council to do just that, saying the city needs clear-cut policies that ensure members keep at arm’s length from developers.

“It’s not just about your actions, it’s about perception,” Craig said.

Her report follows a complaint by Coun. Michael Fogarty over concerns that councillors Kehoe, Pete Bowen and Tony Madden were lobbying on behalf of Tribal Partners for a recreation proposal at 174 West St. S. – after council had approved a project for James Street.

A second complainant, who is unidentified in Craig’s report, named Kehoe, Bowen and Madden, as well as Councillors Andrew Hill, Paul Spears and Wayne Gardy.

Craig determined that Kehoe, Bowen and Madden contravened the code of conduct, albeit through “an error of judgment made in good faith.

She stressed that “good faith” should not be taken to mean the three councillors’ actions were “appropriate or an innocent mistake.”

“There was information for them to understand that their actions were not proper, they were inappropriate and they certainly were biased,” she added this week.

Hill, Spears and Gardy “acted in accordance with the rules of the Code of Conduct,” Craig added.

Fogarty was pleased by Craig’s report.

“Very clearly she says there was an issue,” he said.

“She said there was in fact a contravention of the code.”

Fogarty filed the complaint in the hope the process would prove a “learning opportunity” for council.

Craig’s report identified gray areas of city policy that require clarifying, he added.

“That is where we need to now focus on going forward, on that learning opportunity … and grasp that and do something good for accountability in the city of Orillia,” he added.

Kehoe maintains that he was acting in the city’s best interests by meeting with Tribal Partners in the hope of securing a partner for a new rec centre.

He said he had “run up against a brick wall at both the mayor’s office and the CAO’s office” in his attempts to bring investment to the city – first with a project proposed by Mady Development Corp. and, later, with Tribal Partners.

Kehoe alleged Mayor Angelo Orsi had been in conflict during the process.

Orsi took exception to the comment, telling Kehoe that “there is a process for that, take me to court.”

Craig determined that Kehoe was “overly engaged” in administrative matters of the city related to procurement.

“The whole reason for these complaints is because members of council believed they needed to act and they decided they were going to act and the ability to act in the absence of rules leads to bias, to favoritism, to inappropriate action,” she said.

Bowen, who led a petition effort allowing Tribal Partners an extended deputation before council, “clearly has put a considerable amount of effort and time into seeking information in relation to opportunities on the recreation file,” she added.

“However, his actions, while they may have been well meaning and with the intention to seek out opportunities and not advocate for any one proponent, were tantamount to advocating for Tribal Partners Inc. to get before council to deliver their proposal,” she said.

Madden “demonstrated an entrenched view on where the development site should be,” Craig said.

Madden, during the report’s presentation, said: “All we did was ask to have a development opportunity heard at council.”

However, in an earlier interview with Orillia Today, Madden said, “I have consulted for Tribal and I can tell you it is 100 per cent within my capacity as a councillor.”

Coun. Linda Murray welcomed Craig’s recommendations, describing council as “incredibly dysfunctional.”

“I’m hoping that we can actually turn this around,” she added.

Craig recommends the city implement policies that ensure councillors “keep at arms-length from a potential proponent” during the procurement process and avoid possible conflicts.

She encouraged all councillors to consider, “with solemn seriousness,” a section of the code that calls on members to deal with one another in a way that “maintain public confidence in the position to which they have been elected or appointed.”

Craig’s exploration of councillors’ involvement with the contentious recreation file didn’t end with Kehoe, Bowen and Madden.

She called into question “the collective actions of council” while giving voice to the community’s frustration over the languishing project. 

“Members of the public who have come forward through telephone calls or correspondence to my office have feelings that span from outrage to hopeless resignation,” she added.