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In light of the current political climate, any claims of abuse of power are rightly taking centre stage. Between the SNC-Lavalin scandal and basically the entire Trump Presidency there is an abundance of examples of what can occur when an elected official's abuses of power go unchecked.
Like many other Orillians, I was disturbed to read that one of our local councillors was being investigated by the city’s Integrity Commissioner based on an allegation that he had contravened the Council Code of Conduct by pressuring a municipal bylaw enforcement officer.
However, I was reassured that council stood together and endorsed the Integrity Commissioner’s recommendation to dock Coun. Cipolla five days pay and sent a strong message that the City of Orillia will not tolerate this kind of behaviour.
While Coun. Cipolla’s actions were deemed “more than a technical breach”, his decades-long experience should, in my opinion, warrant a second chance. Everyone is liable to make mistakes, and, as an elected official under constant scrutiny, it is not surprising that a career spanning almost a half-century contains some errors in judgement.
I believe that following council’s decision to adopt the IC’s recommendations and an apology from Coun. Cipolla, this issue should be put to bed. However, reading Coun. Cipolla’s so-called apology, I am not quite ready to let him off the hook.
While his speech may appease some residents, I found the councillor’s apology inadequate. Coun. Cipolla has addressed this issue several times, but, to my knowledge, he has not actually apologized for his actions: he only apologizes that his actions were 'perceived' a certain way.
Saying “I am sorry you feel that what I did was wrong” is not the same as saying “I am sorry. What I did was wrong.” By wording his apology in this way, one can only draw the conclusion that Cipolla believes what he did could have been okay in different circumstances.
Before we move on from this matter, we must be clear – Coun. Cipolla’s actions were wholly wrong, not because they were misinterpreted, but because they were wrong.
Abuse of power guidelines are generally simple and straightforward. They stress that you can neither abuse your powers nor do anything that could be reasonably perceived as abusing your powers. Simply saying that you were not abusing your powers is not a defence, as you can be guilty for merely giving the impression that you could be trying to abuse your power.
By insinuating that his problem is that his actions were misconstrued by the officer, Coun. Cipolla is not only dodging his responsibility, but also blaming the victim.
Saying he is sorry that the officer felt this way, is, by definition, saying that he thinks another office might have felt differently and laying blame squarely at the feet of the individual officer. We should all commend this officer for stepping forward and confronting this abuse. I am sure that they did not make this complaint lightly. Allowing Coun. Cipolla to deflect in this way should not be tolerated.
Coun. Cipolla handled the situation poorly. As a councillor he should have known how his actions would be received by any reasonable bylaw officer, and he should never have gone into the office.
If he was standing up for his constituent, he was perfectly placed to make lasting change. If he believes that there was an injustice, as a councillor, he could have advocated for changing the by-law itself, not only helping this constituent but many others besides. Instead, Coun.Cipolla made a poor choice.
Coun. Cipolla has shown through years of service to our community that he deserves a second chance. While I have never met Coun. Cipolla, by all accounts he seems like a decent person capable of change.
There is no need for these allegations to permanently stain his record, but in the current political climate I am glad they were thoroughly investigated. I am not asking to draw this out. In fact, I would prefer to free up council to focus on other issues.
But I think it is important that the correct lessons are being learned. Abuse of power can have dire consequences, so let’s forgo the political jargon for 30 seconds and confirm we are all of the same mind. Please, Coun. Cipolla, clarify for the record and simply state “I am sorry. What I did was wrong. I apologize. I won’t do it again.” so that we can all move past this unfortunate incident.
F. Mclean
Orillia
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