ROTHENBURGER – Sarai’s atonement went part way but not far enough

COUN. BILL SARAI today (Dec. 3, 2024) went partway towards atonement for his secret recording of a conversation with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson in January 2023. But he didn’t resign as many felt he should.

Neither will he face any immediate censure from his colleagues, though there’s talk of some sort of review.

A few minutes before the special council meeting called to deal with his shameful conduct, Sarai entered council chambers, looking a little haggard, and quietly sat down at the horseshoe. The public gallery was full, with a spillover audience forced to wait outside. (Coun. Mike O’Reilly remains on an extended vacation; Coun. Nancy Bepple was absent but online.)

Banging his gavel to get the meeting underway, Hamer-Jackson asked why the agenda didn’t include a Public Inquiries section, to which corporate officer Maria Mazzotta told him special meetings don’t typically include one, but he could make a motion.

Which, of course, he did, and, of course, there was no seconder. This council is incorrigible on the issue of public input. Anyway, the meeting moved on.

First, there was the matter of what to do about Sarai’s scheduled stint as deputy mayor for December. That was disposed of quickly with a motion by Coun. Kelly Hall to remove him from the rotation for the month and put Coun. Margo Middleton in his place.

Then it was Sarai’s turn. “I am here today to apologize…” he began, and continued on to specifically apologize to his colleagues, the public, his family and, yes, the mayor for “unprofessional conduct.”

But no mention of a resignation. “I apologize for lying to you, Mr. Mayor,” he said, noting that he did tell the truth to authorities, an apparent reference to an RCMP investigation into the source of the audio recording.

“I know I have damaged the trust I had with all of you.” He would, he said, endeavour to improve, as well as to concentrate on his mental well-being, which he said has been affected by stress brought on by the environment in City Hall.

Bit of an oops there. Not in any way to under-state the importance of mental well-being but when you apologize, you should own it. Your actions are within your own control. Using stress as an excuse is to deflect personal responsibility. Keep it to yourself and move on.

When he was done, Hamer-Jackson asked councillors if they’d like to consider removing the sanctions placed on him, since the argument with Sarai on that January day almost two years ago “sparked” investigations into the mayor’s conduct. Had the investigators been aware of the Sarai tape they might have come to different conclusions, Hamer-Jackson said.

So he made a motion that the sanctions be removed, that his full pay be in-instated, and that he get his office back on the main floor of City Hall.

Predictably, this was followed by crickets around the council table. Hall read a statement saying the investigations had nothing to do with the argument captured in the Sarai tape, and the mayor knows it.

When the mayor tried to ask more questions, Middleton butted in to move the meeting adjourn. At this, several disgusted members of the public gallery rose and turned their backs on council. A CSO moved in to tell them that if they were going to do that, they’d have to leave. No matter, the meeting was over. Councillors filed out, having entertained no questions or discussion.

The whole thing took just under 13 minutes.

As reporters went to find Sarai, members of the Kamloops Citizens United lobby group and other residents milled about outside, bringing out their protest signs with demands for Sarai’s resignation but not knowing what to do next.

Kathrine Wunderlich, who heads up the group, called the meeting result “undemocratic” and reiterated the conviction that Sarai should have done the honorable thing and turned in his resignation for his “egregious” conduct. If he’s not fit to serve as a deputy mayor, he’s not fit to serve as a councillor, she said. Others expressed similar sentiments.

For anyone coming in late to the events of the past few days, Sarai’s transgression wasn’t the fact he made an audio recording. It was that he excerpted a piece of it to suggest the argument in the mayor’s office was on the mayor’s shoulders. (In fact, the recording as a whole shows Sarai doing by far most of the yelling and swearing.) Further, that he lied to the mayor about the origin of the tape, saying someone else had given it to him. That prompted a police investigation into possible bugging of the mayor’s office, but when RCMP talked to Sarai about it he admitted the tape was his alone.

All in all, the meeting was a waste of everybody’s time. Sarai could have called a news conference in front of City Hall to deliver his little speech, or issued a news release for that matter.

So, he remains at the horseshoe to try to do better. He’ll next be in the spotlight when his quest to get rid of Public Inquiries from all council meetings comes forward for approval at a regular council meeting. That one will easily pass, because that’s what this council does.

If anyone really thought Bill Sarai’s ego would allow him would resign, well, the answer came very clearly today.

Here’s the text of his apology:

“I am here today to apologize to my colleagues, to the residents of Kamloops and to my family. Recording my conversation with the mayor was not illegal, but was unprofessional and unacceptable. When confronted with the source of the recording, I was truthful to the authorities but not to the mayor. For that, I apologize for lying to you, Mr. Mayor. I realize I broke our Code of Conduct and I will fully participate in any consequences deemed appropriate. I strive to hold a high standard, as your publicly elected official, to make discourse in our city better, to conform to professional standards instead of acting in a reactionary way. It is something I will improve on and something this city deserves from all our elected officials. I know I have damaged the trust I had with all of you and I am committed to doing what’s necessary to earn it back. On that, I have made a decision to concentrate more on my mental health and well-being, which has been profoundly affected by the ongoing stressful environment within and outside of these council chambers for the past two years. I hope you all understand that and respect my decision. Thank-you.”

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.