ESSEX, ONT. Ward 4 Councillor Sherry Bondy has been suspended 30 days without pay. It comes after she posted negative comments online regarding the town s local electric distribution company. “If you treat the professionals publicly like councillor Bondy wants to, you will lose them,” says Robert Swayze, the town s integrity commissioner. Council voted in favour of the suspension, after a report from Swayze detailed a complaint he received from Mayor Larry Snively. “This definitely wasn’t political in any means. I want to protect our staff,” Snively said during Monday’s council meeting. He alleges Bondy harassed staff at E.L.K. Energy by posting negative comments on social media, violating the code of conduct for members of council.
Essex councillor says harassment accusations a hunt by mayor, as council votes for sanctions
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Bondy s pay suspended from Essex council over online comments
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It s a gag order, really. Because I ask the hard questions, she said.
She said that her criticism of E.L.K. Energy reflects the concerns of her constituents, who are experiencing outages and electrical flickering too often. She wants council and the utility s board to do something about it. We have questions about E.L.K, Energy s asset management plan and how much they re investing back into infrastructure, she said.
So, the integrity commissioner can side with the mayor and say it s harassment. How I look at it, I m just doing my job.
Mayor launched complaint
The report was sparked by a complaint from Essex Mayor Larry Snively in April. Snively declined an interview request.