Should he stay or should he go?

Brantford councillor John Bradford crossed the line in his treatment of a city employee and he’s been punished. But has he been punished enough? 

An investigation carried out by an independent integrity commissioner found that Bradford violated the city’s code of conduct for councillors by harassing the employee. 

John Bradford

 

It’s a sordid story. 

The investigation confirmed that Bradford acted in a hostile manner towards the woman, who was in a relationship with the ex-husband of the councillor’s daughter. He also disseminated private photos of the woman and talked about them around the halls of city hall. 

The integrity commissioner recommended that Bradford lose three months’ pay — the stiffest possible penalty under the municipal code of conduct. And the majority of council voted to do that, meaning Bradford will lose about $5,700 in salary. 

But the episode still stinks, and there are several troubling issues still unresolved. 

First  of all, it was troubling that council voted only 6-3 to impose the stiffest penalty. As another councillor pointed out, it should have been unanimous. 

It was troubling that Marguerite Ceschi-Smith, a champion of women’s rights, voted against the penalty. She later explained that she voted that way because the penalty didn’t give the victim the right to accept an apology. But this was too serious of a misconduct to be papered over with an apology. 

Councillors Mark Littell — who has announced plans to run for mayor — and Richard Carpenter also voted against docking Bradford’s pay. Shame on them. 

Not only should the vote have been unanimous, council should have had the option to go further and strip Bradford of his job. There’s a flaw in the law if serious violations like this don’t result in “impeachment.” 

So what’s left to do? 

Bradford should resign. He crossed the line big time. Because of his actions, he has little credibility with city staff, whom he has to work with on a daily basis. He has also lost credibility with most fellow councillors, who he has to work with to make decisions. He’s also lost credibility with residents in his ward and in the city overall. 

Even Ceschi-Smith has come around to this view. She either had a change a heart, or received calls from residents telling her to give her head a shake. She’s come out now calling for his resignation. 

After initially not commenting on the case, Bradford has now apologized for his action. But it is too little, too late. He should go. He doesn’t deserve to keep his job. And voters shouldn’t have to wait until next October’s municipal election to have the chance to boot him out.