Port Moody mayor to go back on leave over sex assault charge
Port Moody Mayor Rob Vagramov is going back on a leave of absence following a sex assault charge.
It had been unclear whether the mayor planned to step aside after Port Moody council voted 4-3 last week to ask him to go back on an unpaid leave while he faces the criminal charge.
On Tuesday night, Vagramov announced that he was returning to leave over the next few days.
Diana Dilworth, the city councillor who made the motion, said she was pleased that Vagramov has heard the hundreds of residents who implored him to return to a leave of absence.
“Our residents have had to take time out of their lives to come to city hall, to write emails, to make phone calls, to organize a petition and to protest in the streets of our community,” she said, adding that she remained disappointed that Vagramov continues to blame council for being politically motivated in its actions against him. “The drama of which he references has been caused by his criminal charges and by a premature return to city hall, before he is exonerated of those charges,” she said.
Vagramov has been contacted for more information but has not yet replied.
Vagramov, who took a voluntary leave of absence in March after being charged with sexual assault, returned to work last month.
Dilworth told an emotionally charged meeting last week that Vagramov’s presence has challenged council’s ability to provide good governance.
Councillor Hunter Madsen, who, along with Coun. Steve Milani, voted against the motion, accused Vagramov’s political adversaries of exploiting the moment “to attempt a ruthless political takedown” of the mayor.
When he returned, Vagramov said that the Crown now considered his charge a summary matter and his legal counsel was exploring a resolution that would not involve a trial.
Vagramov began a voluntary leave of absence on March 29, a day after the B.C. Prosecution Service announced he had been charged with sexual assault for an incident alleged to have taken place in Coquitlam in 2015. Vagramov has denied the allegation.