This report will be on the agenda Monday July 19th.
THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF ESSEX
OFFICE OF THE INTEGRITY COMMISSIONER
REPORT TO COUNCIL IN OPEN SESSION
TO: Mayor Snively and Members of Essex Council
FROM: Robert Swayze, Integrity Commissioner
DATE: July 19, 2021
SUBJECT: Code of Conduct Complaint – Mayor v. Bondy
Recommendation:
That the compensation paid to Councillor Sherry Bondy as a member of Council
be suspended for a period of 30 days commencing with the next pay period.
Background:
I received a complaint from Mayor Snively sworn on April 23, 2021, alleging that
Councillor Bondy was publicly and continuously harassing the staff at E.L.K.
Energy Inc. (“ELK”) by posting negative comments about them on social media
and recording a video in front of the company’s premises. ELK is a municipally
owned local electric distribution company.
She has a long history of aggressively criticizing the staff going back to before
2019 when she was on the board of directors. It became a concern to the board
and a letter was written to her on November 19, 2019, advising her that she was in
breach of her legal duties and obligations as a director. In response to that letter,
she resigned from the board and continued publicly harassing staff.
Robert J. Swayze 2 July 19, 2021
The most egregious posting on her social media is an artist’s rendition of an
electrical staff member being forcefully led as a prisoner to the gallows and about
to be hanged. It is attached to this report as Appendix 1. In her response to the
complaint, she attempted to assert that the drawing was not intended to portray an
ELK staff member which I found to be absurd, given her long history of criticizing
ELK staff.
I have conducted interviews as part of my investigation and the impact of her
constant negative comments on the morale of ELK staff is a serious concern.
There appears to have been a reduction in the response to recruitment advertising
as a result. In addition, complaints from the public have substantially increased
from four years ago before she started stirring up the community. I am advised
that the provision of reliable and good electrical service has increased over the
past 4 years.
I received a request from the Mayor on June 23, 2021 to expand the inquiry to
include a posting she made on social media about Town staff. Referring to a
discussion about a change of a staff policy regarding who can attend meetings
during Covid, she posted the following:
“It is all lined up at that end – all planned and deliberate. What’s the
difference if two more people go? What if they do shifts. Then they lecture
me about acting like a team. There is no team here at the Town and I am
the only one not afraid to say so. We need inclusive leaders not leaders
who protect their turf and try to pick and choose who they want to be next
in line. It happened last term and it’s happening again and expect to see
more and more of it. This is not the leadership the people deserve. There
are so many other ways to run a municipality. Run it like the councillors
and the community matter.”
It concerns me that she would make this posting while at the same time she knew
that she was being investigated for public staff harassment. This must stop.
Both components of the complaint have been served on her and she has responded
to me on both.
Analysis
As an Integrity Commissioner for municipalities over the past 13 years, I have
explained to members of many councils that every member has the right to be
critical of staff so long as it is to other members of Council and done privately.
Councillor Bondy could at any time have requested a closed session of Council to
call into question the performance of any member of staff. The same could have
Robert J. Swayze 3 July 19, 2021
been done with the ELK board so long as it was to the directors and in camera. I
suspect that she believes her public diatribes against staff will get her votes. I
regard her behaviour against staff members as inappropriate politics.
The Code of Conduct for Members of Council and Local Boards/Committees (the
“Code”) provides as follows:
Section 9.02
“No Member shall maliciously or falsely injure the professional or ethical
reputation of staff and will show respect for the professional capacities of
staff”
Section 9.03
“All Members have a duty to treat members of the public, one another,
committee and board members and staff appropriately and without abuse,
bullying or intimidation, and to ensure that the work environment is free
from discrimination and harassment.”
Conclusion:
I find that Councillor Bondy has contravened the Code by her conduct against
both ELK and Town staff as described in this report.
As I indicated earlier in this report, the behaviour by Councillor Bondy against
staff must stop. I am recommending a suspension of 30 days of her salary as a
Councillor with my promise to her, if she continues with her public criticism of
any staff after this report, my recommendation will be 90 days each time. With
my finding that the Code has been violated, Council has the power to increase this
suspension to 90 days, but I am not recommending it. This is my first report on
staff harassment against her and in my opinion, the maximum penalty now is not
appropriate.
Prepared by:
Robert Swayze
Integrity Commissioner
Attachment: Appendix 1 – Drawing with noose.
