Peter Kelly saga just won’t die
The fate of the top unelected official proved to be a hot topic during a televised debated earlier this week among the five candidates seeking to take over the mayor’s chair.
Former Halifax Regional Municipality mayor Peter Kelly has been the chief administrative officer at Charlottetown city hall since May of 2016. Despite his experience in the municipal area, his hiring has proven controversial.
Kelly came to Island capital after holding a similar job in Westlock County, Alberta, where his actions in handling a land deal came under review. The third-party review was still ongoing when Kelly was hired in Charlottetown and a decision on whether to make his hiring permanent was delayed waiting for the report from the west.
That report indicated Kelly acted without proper authority when he negotiated a land lease on behalf of the municipality. While council did give verbal agreement for Kelly to proceed, it was in the committee of the whole session. Just like P.E.I., Alberta municipalities are not allow to pass resolutions in-camera (behind closed doors and away from public scrutiny). That must happen during an open session so Kelly did act without the proper paper trail.
However, councillors in Westlock County decided not to take any further action and Kelly was made a permanent Charlottetown employee. While the CAO does not usually change following an election, rightly or wrongly, Kelly is perceived as a personal hiring of outgoing mayor Clifford Lee. When the topic came up during the debate, former councillor Cecil Villard said he had heard several times at the doorstep rival Philip Brown was saying he would fire Kelly. Brown, who is also a former councillor who opposed Lee in the last two elections, angrily denied the accusation.
If elected to the top job, Brown said he would conduct a review of operations at city hall with a goal of streamlining operation. He said Villard’s contention was dirty politics and was doing a disservice to Kelly. For his part, Villard said he was simply repeating what he heard, and said firing Kelly without just cause could result in legal action.
Kim Devine, who also served on council, said she found the discussion of city personnel in a public forum “inappropriate.” The other two candidates, Jamie Larkin and William McFayden, have no council experience and had little to say on the issue.
There is no question Devine did the best job fielding the question. However, Villard was correct in pointing out there is no suggestion Kelly has done anything wrong during his employment in Charlottetown. Firing him would likely trigger legal action for unlawful dismissal and the likelihood is great the city would lose and taxpayers would be presented with a hefty legal bill. Unless there is a new development, the Peter Kelly saga should be over no matter who is in the mayor’s chair. If he is found to do something wrong while an employee of the capital city, certainly discipline may be warranted up to and including dismissal. Otherwise let the man do his job.