Is that ethical?

I filed an ethics complaint with Mayor Clarke as I wanted to know if Councillor Gillespie's actions and words around the proposed Big Pond RV park were ethical. 

I spoke several times with the Office of the Nova Scotia Ombudsman, and ended up writing a complaint asking that Councillor Gillespie's actions and words around the process of creating a new zone in Big Pond were ethical. 

I did not do this lightly, but because I believe that there was a lack of tranparency and accountablilty in Council Gillespie's actions, and that it would be useful to find out if my analysis of the situation would be supported by the CBRM. 

As it turned out, Mayor Clarke contacted me and has said there is no unethical behavior that is at odds with any policy or law. This is interesting to me as I truly did think that Councillor Gillespie's actions were on-their-face unethical.

Mayor Clarke also noted that Councillor Gillespie is responsible for defending his public words and actions, not Council. And so it is that I have decided to write about this, not to hound Councillor Gillespie in any way but to shed light on how the antics of municipal government can leave you feeling a little upside down. A little are-you-going-to-believe-me-or-your-own-eyes-ish. 

The first time that I felt disbelief seep into my brain while watching Councillor Gillespie speak was at the vote on whether to create a spot zone in Big Pond. Here is the video: Start at 1:03.24. 

I think that this is odd. I am not saying that Councillor Gillespie voted for the spot zone because he wants a seasonal spot to park his RV in Big Pond, but it did feel weird hearing him say this just before he voted. I had understood that the issue at hand was whether it was possible to provide reasonable protection to the people living there.  Of course,Councillor Gillespie did say a lot more, and I encourage you to watch the entire video, if you are interested on how these votes happen. 

This expression of a desire to park his RV in Big Pond was not the crux of my ethics complaint, although I did include it as I was curious as to when a Councillor should recuse themselves from a vote. 

My next post will be titled Councillor Gillespie Goes Rogue? 

Stay tuned.