Carleton Place mayor faces complaint
Allegation that in-camera information was leaked from Carleton Place council
The mayor of Carleton Place may not have heard the last of the town’s ethics watchdog after a report this week that concluded a “toxic relationship” between the mayor and another councillor has been damaging to their town.
Just days after the report from the integrity commissioner cleared Mayor Louis Antonakos of wrongdoing — but nevertheless expressed concerns over the alleged behaviour of the mayor and councillor — a new complaint has been filed against Antonakos by a local property developer.
In the new complaint, which was also filed with the Ontario Ombudsman, Volundur “Wally” Thorbjornsson alleges Antonakos has violated code of conduct regulations. They are the same regulations that led the integrity commissioner to issue a stern warning to the councillor.
It’s the latest allegation of political intrigue emanating from the town of 10,000 just outside Ottawa.
The previous integrity commissioner’s report dealt with a complaint against Coun. Doug Black, who had been accused of disclosing confidential information gleaned from in-camera council sessions. The allegations included leaking information to a member of the local hospital board about the “disintegrating relationship” between the board and council.
Commissioner Robert J. Swayze did not sanction either Antonakos or Black in his ruling, but warned any future complaint regarding the councillor’s “casual approach to disclosing confidential matters” could result in financial penalties.
Thorbjornsson, a former close friend and business associate of Antonakos, now alleges the mayor committed similar breaches of confidentiality during the 2014 election campaign which led to then-councillor Antonakos narrowly defeating incumbent mayor Wendy LeBlanc.
Thorbjornsson said he was working closely with Antonakos during the campaign. In his complaint, Thorbjornsson alleges a “gross misuse” of information from in-camera sessions.
“During the past term of council, then-councillor Antonakos recorded many in-camera discussions to do with development activity and proposals before the council,” Thorbjornsson stated, claiming he personally witnessed Antonakos playing back the recordings to “groups of people in the development business” on at least six to eight occasions during the 2014 election campaign.
The Citizen has spoken to one prominent Carleton Place resident who said he was present for some of those meetings and corroborated Thorbjornsson’s account.
Antonakos has not spoken publicly about the findings of the integrity commissioner report, and did not respond to questions about the allegations made in the latest complaint.
Thorbjornsson said he acknowledges his own complicit behaviour was “improper.”
He goes on to claim he was approached recently by a supporter of Antonakos, who shared information about confidential council discussions concerning Thorbjornsson’s business enterprise.
“I do believe that this mayor is acting in a vengeful and punitive way and certainly is violating the Town’s code of conduct, and has pushed well beyond that with his tape recording habits,” he claimed.
Thorbjornsson and Antonakos have butted heads in the past.
After Antonakos won election, Thorbjornsson said his relationship with the mayor soured, as he became disappointed with the mayor’s performance.
While serving as vice-chair of the town’s business improvement area in June, 2016, Thorbjornsson drew the ire of the mayor after he published critical postings on his personal Facebook page. The resulting dispute was documented extensively in the local paper, the Carleton Place Canadian Gazette.
Antonakos demanded the postings be removed and, when Thorbjornsson refused, citing his right to free speech, the mayor invoked the code of conduct and demanded Thorbjornsson be removed from the business group. Thorbjornsson again declined. Coun. Black would eventually resign from his role as council liaison to the BIA, citing conflict between himself and the mayor. Eight months later, the BIA remains without a council liaison.
One of the official complaints against Black cited in the Jan. 26 integrity commissioner report involved allegations that Black had discussed confidential details about “the mayor’s wish to remove Coun. Black from the BIA board of directors.”
Swayze dismissed each of the complaints. He said he reviewed “literally hundreds of pages” during his investigation, “which reveal a toxic relationship between the Mayor and Coun. Black.”
Town clerk Duncan Rogers confirmed receipt of the official complaint. There was no immediate indication from the Integrity Commissioner whether the complaint would result in an investigation. ahelmer@postmedia.com Twitter.com/helmera