Nanaimo-Info-blog: Council Pays For Councillors Legal Opinions
Council Pays For Councillors Legal Opinions
Conflict Policy Adopted$3,000 For Councillors Legal Advice
Council has agreed to pay up to $3,000 per year, per Councillor so the Councillor may seek legal advice on a matter that will potentially have a Council member in conflict.
Councillor Anderson was the sole Councillor opposed to the adoption of this staff recommendation, saying he felt if a Councillor needed legal advice on the matter of a conflict of interest, they should pay for that legal counsel themselves. He unsuccessfully sought to have the matter deferred to the next regular council meeting so he might gain more information on the decision.
Councillor Greves Wants Legal OpinionReceived $22,500 In Campaign Contributions From Trade Unions
Councillor Greves who brought this matter before council indicated that he wished to get a clarification on his own potential conflict of interest, prior to matters coming before council he wished to vote on.
For those unfamiliar, Councillor Greves is a retired firefighter, who at one time was the union representative for the firefighters union locally. Councillor Greves received $6500 in contributions from trade unions in his successful bid in the spring by-election and another $16,000 in campaign contributions in the fall general election for a seat on city council.
A reasonable question might be if a candidate receiving large donations from trade unions, would be in a perceived conflict involving council decisions affecting wage and benefit increases related to members of those unions.
The unions listed as supporting Councillor Greves campaign were CUPE BC/National, IAFF, CUPE 401, Firepac Canada, Local 905 IAFF.
Should those in public office be like Caesar’s wife?
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