ROTHENBURGER  – Report on Sarai’s Tapegate results in slap on the wrist

COUN. BILL SARAI should be breathing a sigh of relief today. His punishment for Tapegate will be a slap on the wrist.

No instant pay cut, no banishment from committees, no restrictions on travel, and he remains entitled to represent the City at public events.

Instead, a letter of reprimand. That’s the recommendation of an independent investigator. Council, however, has added a couple of embellishments: Sarai must also sign and deliver a letter of apology to Mayor Hamer-Jackson and a letter of apology to Council, staff and the public “within thirty (30) days of receiving the approved forms from the Deputy Mayor.”

Since Sarai issued a public apology to all concerned quite some time ago, that requirement doesn’t add anything new. In addition, though, Sarai must take training on respectful workplace communication or other interpersonal skills within 60 days of have receiving notice of council’s resolution (which was passed May 27).

And if he doesn’t comply? A five percent pay cut for six months or until he does comply, whichever comes first. Of course, he’ll comply.

The upshot is, yes, a slap on the wrist for infractions that many believe should have resulted in the councillor’s resignation.

Not that Sarai is treated lightly in a report from Vancouver lawyer Reece Harding of the Young Anderson law firm. Harding, in his report dated April 30, is critical of Sarai’s actions in secretly taping a quarrel with the mayor, then lying about who did it. Neither is the investigator pleased about Sarai’s reluctance to take full responsibility for his actions.

Harding accepts the claim of councillors that the taped dust-up had nothing to do with “corrective measures” taken against Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, even though it triggered investigations into the latter’s behaviour. That’s certainly arguable but Harding comes down hard on Sarai for his handling of the audio-tape situation, characterizing it as “misleading behaviour.”

Writes Harding in his report: “Councillor Sarai only disclosed the true sequence of events after he became involved in an investigation that was initiated by the RCMP after a complaint from the Mayor. This is not a circumstance in which, despite Councillor Sarai’s comments and public apology, he simply decided upon self reflection that he had acted in an improper manner. An external factor, the investigation by the RCMP, was at least partly responsible for setting in motion his apology…. His actions were not trivial.”

Harding continues, “To some extent, as evidenced by his comments to me during his interview, Councillor Sarai still believes that his conduct was justified, and that it did not constitute a breach of his oath of office.”

Harding concludes, in fact, that Sarai breached both the council’s code of conduct and, maybe more importantly, his oath of office.

“… the manner in which he has conducted himself falls short of the standards that are set out in the Code and breaches the oath of office that he swore when he was elected.

“Moreover, I am concerned that Councillor Sarai still does not appreciate the extent to which his actions constituted a breach of the Code. Councillor Sarai stated in his interview that he apologized because he had realized and accepted that he should have told the Mayor ‘where the audio came from.’”

But Sarai told Harding he had “valid reasons” for his actions and that, given the “totality of what [he] was faced with,’ he strongly opposes any finding that he violated his oath of office.”

Harding also notes, “I find it particularly problematic that before it was revealed publicly that Councillor Sarai had created the Edited Recording, he characterized the Mayor as ‘paranoid and delusional’ in public comments to a local news outlet. This evinces that he was willing to use the Edited Recording for more than just encouraging the Mayor to ‘tell the truth.’”

Hamer-Jackson, by the way, doesn’t escape criticism in the report, with Harding pointing that that he refused to be interviewed during the investigation. Had the mayor agreed to be interviewed, he might have provided information “helpful” to the investigation, Harding wrote. In my view, RHJ’s refusal to participate was a mistake.

At any rate, Sarai has now been found to have breached both the council’s code of conduct and his oath of office. That’s serious stuff. But, after an investigation that cost taxpayers more than $38,000, it’s pretty much business as usual.

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 is 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.