A Mississauga councilor accused of vandalizing a fellow councilor’s vehicle has been asked to take a leave of absence.
In a motion read at Wednesday’s meeting, council requested that Ward 6 Coun. Ron Starr take a leave of absence amid allegations that he “keyed” fellow Coun. Karen Ras’s vehicle.
Starr declined to comment on the allegations when initially contacted by Metroland and did not respond to follow up emails and calls.
Ras stepped down as Ward 2 councilor in January and, in a letter posted on her website, cited “workplace issues” as part of her reasons for resigning. She said changes to strengthen municipal codes of conduct, the rules that govern council members’ behavior, were “long overdue.”
The motion also requests that Mississauga’s integrity commissioner Robert Swayze investigate whether Starr engaged in “harassing behavior” towards Ras.
Swayze has been called to appear at a special council meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 9, where according to the motion he’ll be asked “to explain the rationale” for not investigating Ras’ complaint.
Swayze declined to comment, when asked by media, about why Ras’ allegations were not investigated.
Council’s code of conduct however states that complaints which potentially involve criminal acts must be investigated by police and not the integrity commissioner.
Starr was part of the public council meeting Wednesday, which adjourned before 1 pm to address a number of in-camera items, including one related to Ras’ departure.
Council returned just before 4 pm after nearly three hours of deliberation on multiple items and Starr was absent.
A spokesperson from the city said that Starr had declared a conflict of interest during the in-camera session and left the meeting.
Following the session, Councilor Pat Saito tweeted she was angry that she just learned about the allegations this week and that council was calling for Swayze to conduct a “full investigation”.
“We do not condone harassment” said Saito, who is also the chair of the city’s governance committee, which oversees council’s code of conduct. “We all need to feel and be safe.”
As news about the allegations broke on Wednesday morning, several Mississauga residents took to social media to express their disappointment.
In an interview, longtime Ward 6 resident Leonard Verwey said if the allegations are true Starr “should admit it publicly and then resign.”
“If he decides to remain, I would hope that enough people in Ward 6 know about this, that he will not be reelected as he certainly does not deserve to be reelected,” he said.
James Rubec moved to Ward 6 in 2020 and said he had a good impression of Starr and his office staff, until these allegations became public.
He said now he’s questioning the overall culture of city council.
“If the workplace is so toxic that a female councilor feels that she has to resign to actually best represent her family and her own self-worth. What is this council doing? ” Rubec said.
Starr was first elected to Mississauga council in 1978. After decades off council, he was elected as the Ward 6 councilor in 2010 and won two more elections in 2014 and 2018.
This story was updated Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022 at 6:34 pm
Reference-www.thestar.com