Sarnia's embattled mayor says he regrets letting his passion for the city overcome his judgement and normal good manners, and he apologizes.
In a letter to the people of Sarnia, Mike Bradley says a workplace investigation released Friday, like the integrity commissioner's report before it, is incomplete and biased. He says the author of the report that finds he bullied and harassed city hall staff, chose not to interview people that could provide context and balance, and that the report contains factual errors.
Bradley outlines what he calls substantial issues that led to significant disagreement in the workplace between him and senior management.
"I've admitted that I've made mistakes in the workplace," says Bradley. "I was bold and I was aggressive. I admitted that earlier this year and I've accepted that responsibility and apologized. But, I can't stand back and say this was the right way to go forward. There needed to be a third way and it could have involved mediation."
He says city council ignored advice that there should be one investigation, not two.
"It was unfair and unhelpful to the community to have two investigations," says Bradley. "It is double jeopardy or wanting a pound of flesh over and over again. Both investigations were authorized by Sarnia City Council at a closed meeting on February 4, 2016. Council was advised then there should be one investigation, not two, and council chose to ignore that advice."
He says he's hearing that the second investigation will cost much more, by hundreds of thousands of dollars, than the initial $70,000 integrity commissioner probe.
Bradley, who had his pay suspended for three months for breaking council's code of conduct, says he's been denied any legal advice or assistance under the Indemnification Bylaw, even though the allegations are based on his role as mayor.
Mayor Bradley says he is determined to continue to advocate throughout this term and beyond if he decides to run again.
"My resolve is very strong today," he says. "The issues that I've raised, whether I raised them in the right manner or not, haven't changed. I'm very concerned about the future of the city. I'm concerned about the spending of the city council. I'm concerned about the fact that we could have been a debt free city in a few years and we're not going to be. I'm concerned that we're trying to reduce our workforce through attrition and management of retirements and were not doing that."
Nevertheless, Bradley thinks it's time to move on.
“No individual or group is bigger than the city," he says. "The challenges we face as a community require our full attention. For Sarnia to be what it has the potential to be, the work we do as a council must be done in good faith. We must be willing to set aside our competing interests and put the needs of the people first. We must see the best in each of us.”
