OLDS — Town council has punished councillor Mitch Thomson for council code of conduct breaches an independent investigator says he is guilty of.
Thomson alleged "political interference" in the operations of his employer, Olds Institute (OI), in a social media post on June 12 in reaction town council’s decision to redirect the second half of the town's 2020 funding for OI to its economic development secretariat and economic recovery taskforce.
The first-term councillor is the executive director of OI.
According to a Town of Olds press release issued yesterday (Oct. 23), Thomson refused to take down the post and publicly apologize for it when asked to do so by council a few weeks later.
After undertaking an investigation into the matter and obtaining legal advice, council voted earlier this month to sanction Thomson.
That means that he will lose his spot in this coming year’s deputy mayor rotation and will receive a letter of reprimand from town council.
Mayor Michael Muzychka confirmed to The Albertan that despite the censure, Thomson will be able to remain as a town councillor until the end of his term in the fall of 2021.
“Councillor Thomson is hereby censured for his inappropriate behaviour and misconduct and council expects councillor Thomson to honour his oath of office and abide by the council code of conduct bylaw throughout the remainder of his term in office,” the news release reads.
An independent investigation into the matter "has cost the taxpayers of Olds approximately $27,000", according to the statement, “and could have easily been avoided if councillor Thomson had simply acted appropriately.”
In the June 12 social media post, Thomson hinted at “political interference” by town officials.
“In what has felt like a retaliatory response to me being elected, several members of the current town administration have sought to interfere with the organizational autonomy of the Olds Institute,” he wrote.
“They have intervened in discussions of my employment contract and demanded to participate in discussions relative to my compensation.
“The mayor has inappropriately used his title to pressure and browbeat the board – which is largely comprised of volunteers from our community -- and interfere with decision-making at the Olds Institute.
“Councillor (Debbie) Bennett has both breached board confidentiality and our code of conduct. These and several other matters are being forwarded to Municipal Affairs for review,” he added.
He also suggested council may have politically interfered in the future of OI assets.
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In the post, Thomson wrote that “during the fall of 2019, an external competitor expressed interest in some of the Olds Institute's assets.”
“The mayor and members of council met with them to discuss the matter privately and felt they should have a say in deciding the future of our network."
Thomson was elected to town council during a byelection last January.
He wrote that he has “dutifully” avoided a conflict of interest by recusing himself during council meetings any time matters arose “that could benefit or impact my employer.”
Thomson recused himself from the discussion and vote on redirecting OI funds which he was reacting to in the June 12 social media post.
A town news release says three separate council code of conduct complaints were lodged this summer in response to Thomson’s post.
And on Oct. 15, council voted to sanction Thomson for its contents and “subsequent actions.”
Council also voted to make public the independent report by Kingsgate Legal regarding the findings into the complaints, subject to Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) regulations.
Town officials say that report will be posted on the town’s website “in due course.”
Jaymie Pytel of Kingsgate Legal in Edmonton, who acts as the integrity commissioner for the City of Edmonton, conducted the investigation into the town’s complaints.
Pytel has also worked with many other municipalities on codes of conduct for other municipalities in Alberta.
“The post clearly violates the code requirements to act in good faith and serve the interest of the municipality as a whole, to respect council’s decisions and violates the conflict of interest requirement to not act or appear to act in order to gain financial or other benefits for himself or his employer,” the release quotes Pytel as writing in her findings to the town.
“Well before the June 12 social media post, Councillor Thomson knew of his obligations under the code, in particular with respect to conflict of interest,” the town's release quotes her as writing.
“This was discussed with him when he first joined council in January and then again it was thoroughly discussed at the council orientation session held on May 12, 2020. He even explicitly says in the post, 'I understood that as long as I did not participate in matters that could benefit or impact my employer, I would not be in a conflict of interest'.”
“This leaves the impression that Councillor Thomson intentionally breached the Code.”
In her findings, Pytel said Thomson also acted contrary to the code by “advocating for himself (as OI executive director) and his employer (Olds Institute) and against members of council, the town or administration.”
“The forum chosen by Councillor Thomson to express his views is impactful. The opportunity for damage to council and the town is magnified when this sort of information is put on social media,” the report says.
“That information can be widely disseminated to a large number of people and cause a great deal of damage to the town and to council.”
On July 6, during a closed session of town council, Thomson was asked to take down the social media post and to apologize publicly before formal complaints were filed for breaching the code of conduct.
Thomson confirms he declined to do either.
In an email to The Albertan, Thomson said he stood by his actions and the contents of his social media post."I own my Facebook post and my actions. I told the truth,” he wrote.
“By my actions, I chose to stand for truth and transparency, instead of standing with the mayor and council.
Later in his response, Thomson wrote, “when asked to remove my post, recant my statements, and apologize, I said ‘no’ because my statements are true.
“When asked to resign or be tried publicly. I chose to stand my ground.
“When the council chose to handle the matter in-camera and only the council able to contribute, I backed up my statements with facts.”
