Hamilton City Council voted 14-0 to slap Ward 14 Councillor Terry Whitehead with a 45-day pay suspension for continuing to harass and bully both City of Hamilton staff and other councillors. This represents a penalty of 15 days for each serious violation of Council’s Code of Conduct, as they try to discourage him from continuing to harass and bully others at City Hall. The Municipal Act allows Council to suspend pay for 90 days for each separate incident. Whitehead’s pay was suspended for 30 days in November 2021 following a report regarding his years of targeted harassment of the City’s traffic safety staff and others. Whitehead blames an ongoing serious medical condition for his behaviour, and today announced he will be taking another medical leave. The latest Integrity Commissioners report involves three separate incidences. Whitehead showed up in the City Clerks’ Office unannounced on November 4, 2021, to berate and intimidate the Clerk to not publish the Council agenda containing the first public Integrity Commissioners report involving his misconduct. The next day, he left a threatening intimidating voice mail message to the City’s Executive Director of Human Resources. During a February 9, 2022, Council meeting, sent disrespectful bullying and intimidating chat messages to Ward 15 Clr Judi Partridge. During today’s debate, a few members of Council expressed concern that Whitehead was violating the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act by participating in the debate. The Act contains an exception allowing that councillors “may take part in the discussion of the matter” when a council is debating Integrity Commissioner reports they are the subjects of. “I’m struggling to understand how a councillor who has received an Integrity Commission’s report on their behaviour, it’s not a conflict for them to participate in the debate before Council?” asked Ward 9 Clr Brad Clark. “I can’t recall a councillor who’s been on the other end of an integrity commissioners report actually debating it and calling questions and proposing amendments, it seems to me to be clear conflicts.” “I don’t disagree. And on a personal level, that’s a personal choice,” stated Mayor Fred Eisenberger in response. “I did check with the Clerk and there’s nothing to prevent the councillor from engaging in this issue in this manner. So I think it’s regrettable that he’s chosen to do so but he has chosen to do so and that’s his right as a councillor.” Whitehead’s engagement in today’s Council debate regarding his own misbehaviour struck all the cords of Whitehead’s typical performances of the past decade. He blamed others for his own actions, opening, “I want to thank my council colleagues. You know, there’s an old saying I forgive my enemy. Because at the end of the day, they don’t know what they do.” He remains upset about traffic calming on Aberdeen Avenue. He continues to falsely claim staff mislead the public regarding traffic studies regarding Aberdeen, and falsely claims staff apologized to him. He berated staff, again, and claimed his actions are “in the context of accountability.” Whitehead claims to be ‘fighting the good fight’, against staff. He again specifically berated the City Clerk and the City’s Executive Director of Human Resources. “The reality is, is that when you’re holding somebody accountable for an action … I am always the underdog … you’re doing your best to represent and hold people accountable.” Later in the meeting, after Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson and Ward 3 Councillor Nrinder Nann introduced a motion to forbid Whitehead from attending City Hall, Whitehead argued that we need to fight bullying but that he is not a bully. “Where do you draw a line in that context of holding people accountable, versus what they call bullying? So bullying exists, and we need to fight it, no question.” He then announced he is going back on medical leave. “I won’t be coming back to City Hall. So this motion will not be necessary,” he stated. The majority of Council were “uncomfortable” with sitting in judgement of their colleague, noting public pressure for them to act definitively to end Whitehead’s bullying and harassment of staff. The Wilson/Nann motion was watered down in amendments to state that Whitehead be requested to give advance notice before attending City Hall and staff be directed to review options in response to the motion. A report will be presented at a future council meeting. There are two remaining scheduled Council ratification meetings before August 19 when Council is expected to be declared lame-duck prior to the October 24 municipal election.