City Hall, Hamilton Bermuda: the meltdown continues

City of Hamilton Mayor Graeme Outerbridge is defiant after five councillors demanded his resignation, Politica can report.

The councillors, including Deputy Mayor Donal Smith, have signed a letter to the Mayor demanding his resignation with “immediate effect” saying they “have lost all confidence in [his] ability to perform the functions of Mayor”.

“I have no intention to resign,” said the Mayor in response to a series of questions emailed to him this afternoon.

Added Corporation Secretary Ed Benevides in a separate email: “There is currently no process to force an elected member of the Corporation to resign regardless of how many of their colleagues are in agreement.”

Signing the resignation demand along with the Deputy Mayor were Alderman Gwyneth Rawlins and Carlton Simmons, and Common Councillors Keith Davis and George Scott.

Just three members – Common Councillors Larry Scott, RoseAnn Edwards and John Holdipp – withheld their signatures.

The development follows the Mayor’s decision on Friday to announce the cancellation of all Council meetings until March, saying councillors had breached their code of conduct.

The official press statement on the matter – released Tuesday afternoon – said that members should use the timeout “to review the Code of Ethics and Conduct and reflect on the way they have conducted themselves as Members”

But the Mayor’s opponents say he is the one who has violated the rules.

The five protested the Mayor’s decision to suspend the meetings saying in a separate letter today saying that he had no right to do so.

“Unfortunately for the Mayor, he thought he had the power to do that,” said Smith.

This latest crisis brings to a head a period of prolonged infighting at City Hall, and legal battles against the central government.

Donal Smith, the man who recruited “Team Hamilton” to contest the 2012 City of Hamilton elections. Smith was appointed Deputy Mayor following the historic victory in Bermuda’s first municipal elections open to the residents. Now, he says, Mayor Graeme Outerbridge must resign.

Deputy Mayor Donal Smith said that on Friday morning he and three other councillors went to the Mayor’s parlour and were immediately ordered out by Mayor Outerbridge who said  he was in a private meeting.

They refused to leave and questioned how the meeting could be deemed private as lawyer Eugene Johnston – who is acting for City Hall in an action against the Government was present, as was Corporation Secretary Ed Benevides who was taking notes.

“He was conducting a meeting with our attorney and we walked in on him,” said Smith.

The Deputy said that he had called the Mayor to ask if he was busy and he replied that he wasn’t. “So I got the troops together and we went.”

“When we got there he said ‘this is a private meeting – out’.”

Asked why the Mayor would have been so hostile, Smith said: “He was busted”.

The councillors believe the Mayor has agreed to a request by Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy to withdraw the City’s legal challenge.

The Mayor declined to respond to further questions seeking clarification of Friday’s events.

But in email correspondence over the weekend – shared with us by the Deputy Mayor – the Mayor told his Deputy that alderman Carlton Simmons threatened him at Friday’s encounter.

Smith replied that he had not witnessed any threats.

According to Smith, Outerbridge has unilaterally asked the City’s lawyers J2 Chambers to stop their legal challenge – in violation of the rules and established protocol.

“The Mayor cannot take it upon himself to write letters asking our lawyers to down his tools to stop a challenge which is going to happen on the 29th of this month,” he said.

“He was wanting Mr Johnston to down his tools so that we don’t challenge the Government on our constitutional matter.”

Smith said that the Mayor should have simply asked the council to pass a resolution rescinding an earlier resolution which authorised the legal action.

City Hall’s action challenges the constitutionality of certain aspects of amendments to the Municipalities Act.

Government pushed through legislation last year which gave it greater control over the affairs of the island’s municipalities.

We contacted Alderman Simmons for his version of events. He told us that the only threat he made toward the Mayor was a threat to go to the media.

He added that the issue of the legal challenge was a “side issue” and that there were other matters that Outerbridge and Benevides should answer to.

Simmons was unable to provide any evidence of what he described as “serious allegations” against the pair, however.

Alderman Gywneth Rawlins could not be reached for comment. Larry Scott declined to comment and George Scott corroborated much of the Deputy Mayor’s account of Friday’s showdown at the Mayor’s Parlour.

This article belongs to Politica ! The original article can be found here: City Council members demand Mayor’s resignation

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