Owen Sound City Hall. (file photo)
Owen Sound’s Integrity Commissioner is recommending council impose a formal reprimand of Coun. John Tamming after probing a code of conduct complaint filed by Deputy Mayor Brian O’Leary.
Principles Integrity, the firm serving as the city’s Integrity Commissioner, will deliver its report at Owen Sound council’s meeting Monday night. It finds Coun. Tamming engaged in “harassing and bullying” actions towards the deputy mayor through threats of litigation and counter complaints.
Bayshore Broadcasting News reached out to Tamming for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication time Monday morning.
The Integrity Commissioner’s report was made public as an attachment to Owen Sound council’s April 19 agenda.
It says Deputy Mayor O’Leary filed a complaint against Coun. Tamming on Sept. 29, 2020, alleging harassment and bullying.
According to the report by Principles Integrity, the complaint alleged Coun. Tamming engaged “in a crusade” to publicly discredit and humiliate O’Leary.
It goes on to detail several interactions between the two elected officials.
A chronology of events included in the report says on June 29, 2020 when council was voting on the motion proposed by Tamming to slash the city’s police budget by 30 per cent in 2021, O’Leary was among several who spoke against the proposal. It was voted down 7-1.
The report says the deputy mayor, speaking from written notes, “observed facts contained in the motion were incorrect, and commented Coun. Tamming could benefit from serving on the police board, and suggested acting alone as a councilor is not the best way to get things done.”
The Integrity Commissioner’s report says Coun. Tamming texted O’Leary following the meeting, saying: “you made some good points” and asked if the deputy mayor wanted to “go for a beer.”
O’Leary responded “can’t wait.”
The report says there was no further discussion, emails, or texts exchanged between the two until July 5. That day, Tamming emailed O’Leary a notice of his intention to commence litigation against him, regarding the deputy mayor’s comments during the June 29 meeting.
The report says Tamming cautioned O’Leary to have no further contact with him except through lawyers.
“The Deputy Mayor experienced this letter as bullying and a scare tactic, as it appeared unfounded and was never followed up,” the Integrity Commissioner’s report explains.
Next on the timeline detailed in the report, Tamming emailed two draft letters to the deputy mayor with copies to the city manager and the city clerk, “threatening to publicly release both” if O’Leary did not issue a public apology and a public correction in relation to his critique of Tamming’s June 29 “Defund Police Motion.”
Move to Sept.14, 2020: council was discussing an enhanced neighborhood safety item about a hotspot in the city. The Integrity Commissioner’s report says O’Leary commented on points raised by Coun. Carol Merton. The Deputy Mayor said: “I’m a little bit disappointed. I understand where you’re coming from but you had the opportunity to find out what we’ve done, where we’ve come from, and you didn’t educate yourself on that. To say band-aid, I think you need more information, but that’s my opinion.”
It goes on to say Coun. Merton thanked O’Leary for the comments, and provided clarification of her work behind the scenes to obtain information on the issue.
Later in the meeting, Coun. Scott Greig asked that the deputy mayor “be given the opportunity to either retract or clarify his comments” to Merton.
O’Leary is quoted in the report as saying: “I was just thinking you had the opportunity to educate yourself in camera … that’s all I was asking. You said band-aid … I don’t understand what the issue is.”
The report says nothing further was said by any councilors and the Mayor moved on with the meeting.
“It appeared the issue was satisfactorily resolved,” the report from Principles Integrity says.
Then on Sept. 25, Tamming emailed the deputy mayor demanding proof of an earlier complaint O’Leary made to the Integrity Commissioner.
“Some months ago you advised me that you had forwarded to the OCI a letter from me to you in which I summarized various instances of your rude, bullying and offensive conduct,” Tamming’s email is summarized in the report. “Please forward me a copy of the correspondence you claim you sent to the OCI some months ago. Your continued ignorant behavior as shown to (Coun. Merton) at our last meeting merely underscores the need for involvement of that office.”
Then at the Sept. 28, 2020 meeting of city council, Tamming added a letter to the council agenda he “intended to read aloud.” It was provided to Mayor Ian Boddy and other councillors before the meeting.
When Tamming tried to read his statement, Coun. Marion Koepke raised a point of order that “council may not be the appropriate forum” for this.
Mayor Boddy then referenced the code of conduct and determined the council meeting was not the appropriate forum.
The Mayor advised Tamming to refer his concerns about member conduct to the Integrity Commissioner for an investigation. According to the report, Tamming said: “I will take the necessary steps outside of this forum.”
One day later, Tamming’s letter “An Open Letter to City Council: Councillor Brian O’Leary and the Politics of Intimidation” appeared in a local online publication.
“The letter accuses Deputy Mayor O’Leary of being a bully and a liar, itemizing examples of alleged misconduct by the deputy mayor and raising long-resolved issues, re-opening old wounds for the deputy mayor and his family,” the Integrity Commissioner’s report says.
That day, O’Leary contacted the Integrity Commissioner to file a complaint against Tamming.
A series of opinion pieces responding to the open letter appeared in the local online publication over the next several days.
On Oct. 13, Tamming filed a complaint with the Integrity Commissioner against O’Leary.
“Over the course of the last several years, both I and other councillors have been subject to inflammatory, rude and derogatory comments from O’Leary,” the Integrity Commissioner’s report quotes from Tamming’s complaint.
Tamming withdrew his complaint against the deputy mayor on Nov. 13, 2020, one week after council had a special closed session for education and training with “respect to their obligations under the Council Code of Conduct with particular emphasis on recognizing bullying and harassing behaviours.”
The Integrity Commissioner’s report finds Coun. Tamming contravened provisions of parts 10 and 12 of council’s code of conduct, pertaining to media communications and respectful workplace.
“Councillor Tamming told us that he thinks the deputy mayor is a ‘nice guy’ and he likes him,” the Integrity Commissioner’s report says. “… The overwhelming evidence was to the contrary. We find that the Deputy Mayor’s characterization that Councillor Tamming is ‘engaged in a crusade to publicly discredit and humiliate him’ is substantiated on the facts.”
The report notes The Municipal Act contemplates sanctions including a reprimand or the suspension of pay for up to 90 days.
The Integrity Commissioner recommends Owen Sound city council finds Tamming in breach of the code of conduct and be formally reprimanded.
You can view the entire Integrity Commissioner’s report here.
