Comments reported to have been made on social media by a Township of Langley councillor have led to a formal internal investigation over a possible violation of the municipality’s respectful workplace policy.
On Nov. 27, council voted 5-4 in favour of Coun. Charlie Fox’s motion to have legal opinion obtained about whether the policy was violated, and if so, what recourse is available.
His motion came in response to a letter from a resident identified only as Rhonda, who claims that Coun. Kim Richter “crossed the line” with comments made in the Yorkson Willoughby Facebook group.
Another resident had posted a link to a Langley Times article about Richter’s concerns that Coun. Angie Quaale’s business was hired to cater a Township event, and asked for others’ opinions on it.
READ MORE: Questions arise after councillor’s business hired for Township event
“As people including myself voiced our thoughts, Kim Ritcher [sic] decided to join in. She has now delete [sic] all of her comments as well as her personal page,” Rhonda wrote. “She went so far as to call people cheerleaders for the other councillor etc. etc. Not one person was cheerleading we were stating that the issue seemed to becoming [sic] from a personal conflict she has with the other councillor.”
While the Township does not regulate the personal social media accounts of elected officials, Fox said that their respectful workplace policy — which applies to all Township employees and elected officials — still needs to be reviewed.
“One of the questions that was asked of me by a person while I was out shopping is, ‘Well, what’s it like on council these days?’ Well, I’ll tell you what it’s like, it’s a very disingenuous situation, and I would have to suggest that the tenor is toxic,” Fox said.
“I lived through this from 2008 to 2011, and I’m sorry, I’m not doing it again.”
Fox said there are three areas he would like to have investigated, beginning with the Facebook comments. He would also like to have the treatment of Township staff looked into, specifically related to an email chain between staff members and Richter, and an accusation that a union president was contacted after a Township employee made comments related to the story on Facebook.
But Richter called the motion a personal attack.
“I think we should call this for what it really is. It’s a ‘Trumpian’ witch hunt,” she said.
“This council is angry with me. And so now they’re bullying me and they’re doing it by projecting onto me things that I have not done. It is a complete and utter waste of Township money to go get a legal opinion on the respectful workplace policy.
“There is nothing I have ever posted on Facebook that I would not stand behind, and there is also no way that I would ever say it’s all right for this council to censure the access of its members to social media. That’s just wrong.”
Richter said the motion is an attempt to divert from the real issue — the catering of the 2017 farm tour.
“That’s always been the issue. All of a sudden now it’s been twisted around to say I’m bullying. No, I’m not bullying. I discovered something that occurred that I did not think was right and I brought it to the light of day because it is my job to do this kind of thing. And it’s not an easy job to do.”
READ MORE: Township council defeats conflict of interest motion
COUNCILLORS DIVIDED
Coun. David Davis — who voted against the motion, along with Richter, Petrina Arnason, and Bob Long — said an investigation could affect “the integrity of our council.”
“I’m wondering where this is coming from. Is this a backlash to council members not agreeing on an issue, or is this really about bullying?” he asked. “I’m worried that this motion is just continually fueling a match, and is going to sterilize council, and we will be afraid to even open our mouths and give an opinion because we might offend someone. We’re all adults here and elected for our differences of opinion.”
Arnason warned other councillors about the importance of using self-control online and making sure they are not infringing on free speech or “scapegoating people.”
“I totally support only responsible social media posting. I think that people have to take responsibility for the things that they put on there,” she said.
“But in reality, many of our policies that are reflective of ourselves as councillors go right back to self-responsibility. That’s the nature of our job. We have to be able to monitor ourselves and I think that goes all the way to social media.”
READ MORE: Township councillors speak out about bullying
Coun. Michelle Sparrow, who has spoken before about being bullied on council, related the conversation to her four daughters, and how she wants them to behave.
“This is about respect. (It’s) about respect for each other around this table, it’s about respect for our residents and respect for the job that we all hold. I think that there has definitely been a line that has been crossed. And I think that we are the only ones who can hold each other accountable here,” she said.
“If we’re all going to sit back and say we don’t want to spend any more funds on this, or we don’t want to investigate this any further, and we don’t want to limit people’s ability for free speech — and all of these excuses that we can come up with about not standing up and actually saying something is wrong — how are we ever going to teach our kids what is right and what is wrong?”
Coun. Blair Whitmarsh said the issue comes down to dealing with differing opinions in a respectful manner. He said he believes Township issues should be debated openly in meetings, not on social media.
“I think it’s important to remember that free speech is not saying whatever you want. Free speech is not being hateful towards other people. Free speech is not being prejudiced towards other people or racist, or any of those kinds of things. That’s not free speech. Free speech is not about being a bully,” he said.
“And free speech is about speaking your opinion about a topic in an open, very respectful kind of format. And I think that it is very difficult for council, at times, and others, with social media. Because as you know, social media can do a lot of good things, but it can also be a very negative tool.”
Long shared a similar view.
“You can’t legislate good manners, you can’t legislate common sense. (But) you can ask members of council, staff and the citizenry to have more respect for each other,” he said.
“Social media can be a bit of a trap that we can all fall into, but I think it’s time we moved on. I think we owe it to those who elected us here and to the citizens of the Township to keep decorum at the table. Issues should be discussed here at the council table in meetings — in properly called meetings. Everything else that happens outside, I guess it’s fun and it’s addictive, but it’s not (where) we should be dealing with (it).”
Mayor Jack Froese said council is taking the issue very seriously, and that there could be multiple councillors who have breached the policy, or none at all.
“We’re not here to do a witch hunt. We’re here to look at the policy that has been approved by council by an independent person. A legal opinion is not a member of council, it is somebody independent to take a look at it,” he said.
“Perhaps we can learn from this and move forward, and move forward in a positive way, not in a negative way. I totally agree that difference of opinion, having great debates, having diversity on our council, is healthy and I embrace that.”
Watch the full council debate online here.
SOCIAL MEDIA IN POLITICS
Issues of cyber bullying and threats are not unique to the Township.
In Maple Ridge, Mayor Nicole Read missed several council meetings after receiving “a real, serious threat, that had nothing to do with social media,” the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News reported.
Another elected official in Maple Ridge, Coun. Corisa Bell, said she has been bullied by her fellow colleagues for years, and that the “prolonged adrenal stress” has led to serious health issues.
READ MORE: Maple Ridge mayor ‘still not comfortable’ after threats
READ MORE: Bell singing a new chime as she fights bullying on council
In Chilliwack, a provincial court judge ordered a woman, who claimed to be Mayor Sharon Gaetz’s daughter and repeatedly harassed the mayor, to stay out of Chilliwack city limits.
READ MORE: Woman who harassed mayor ordered to leave Chilliwack
And in Pitt Meadows, Mayor John Becker, who is also a lawyer, announced in June that he may file lawsuits against those who make outrageous claims against him anywhere in public, particularly online.
READ MORE: Taking a stand against ‘keyboard cowards’
READ MORE: Pitt Meadows mayor getting tired of threats, accusations
In light of what’s happening, Fox said he believes that social media is “the most devastating” tool used in politics today.
“There’s two reasons. Number one, there’s no face to social media. And the second thing is that people have a sense of entitlement related to politicians (and) civic workers (as) they feel they pay their salary,” Fox told the Langley Times.
“They feel it’s a no-holds-barred environment and that they have the right to say and do what they want on social media. There’s a sense of entitlement. ‘You work for me, I don’t like what you’re doing, I can say what I want.’ There’s no face to it, there’s no direct interaction. ‘I’ll never see you so, hey, what do I care?’”
Fox says, like other members of council, he has experienced bullying online. He says people have called him “a puke,” have drawn cartoons, and in one case, created a website to spread hateful comments.
“OK, you’ve got to let some of this stuff roll off your back, and I do. It’s not a big deal in the bigger sense,” he said.
“(But) I’ve been there. I’ve been bullied. I’ve been made fun of, whatever you want to classify it as.”
miranda@langleytimes.com
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Respectful Workplace Policy 25 by Miranda Gathercole on Scribd