Catholic School Principal Councillor Confirms Council Concealed Facts
By Kelly Allard
Dumanowski Confirms Sanctions
Were For More Than Disrespecting City Manager
From the May 6 2024 Council Meeting
In a shocking letter to the Medicine Hat News, Councillor Robert Dumanowski has confirmed that this was not now, nor was it ever, just about the events of August 21 2023 despite Council's insistence that it was. He even admits they were hiding information from the public.
“While the mayor’s legal counsel portrayed the defence in the judicial review as simple and straightforward, it is evident that there was a deeper layer of truth understood by city council that was not fully disclosed to the public.
The judicial review process was deliberately focussed on the events of August 21, 2023, however, in reality, the entire proceedings leading up to the review obscured critical facts that remained concealed from the general public, but were clearly understood by the rest of council.”
The above statement is in conflict with what the City posted in March 2024 when we were under the impression that this was ONLY about the August 21 2023 Shitshow Showdown:
“City Council approved the following motion: Council finds Mayor Linnsie Clark has breached the City’s Code of Conduct Bylaw 4492 by failing to treat the City Manager with courtesy, dignity and respect during their exchange at the August 21, 2023 Open Council meeting.
City Council approved the following motion: Arising from such breach of the Code of Conduct, the following sanctions are imposed:...”
I’m thinking Justice Nation might be very interested in Dumanoswki’s statement - if only it was part of the Judicial Review.
This behind closed doors bullshit is exactly why there are seven new faces around the horseshoe. Dunmanowski survived the last purge, it appears unlikely he will survive this one.
Admitting behind closed doors sneakiness is not a good look for a Catholic school principal.
Dumanoswki also confirmed that the reorganization was done the same way it had been done in the past, again admitting that previous Councils had no problems with acting in advance of passing a bylaw or resolution.
“Having spent nearly 23 years around the council table and having participated in multiple administrative reorganizations at city hall during my tenure, I can unequivocally affirm that the process used for last year’s reorganization was consistent with previous organizational reviews/changes.”
Again, not a good look for a Catholic school principal.
This comes after other Council Members have publicly attacked the Mayor for having the audacity to question their decision and take it to a neutral 3rd party. Their biggest problem seems to be that the decision will be public.
Not a good look for Council.
Dumanowski is once again accusing the mayor of trying to score political points by taking this to a Judicial Review. (Seriously?)
“It is highly concerning that instead there seemed to be a desire to engage in public political conflict (in the form of a judicial review) rather than seeking resolution behind the scenes. I want to emphasize that there were eight councillors who shared a unanimous and unified position in levelling a the code of conduct violation against the mayor.”
The public is tired of the behind closed doors secrecy and sneakiness. Council Members campaigned on transparency but have not delivered. Singling out one person for a public flogging is unbecoming of Council and makes them appear to be a bunch of bullies.
Community TV/ The Trash Panda gets a lot of tips and we have yet to hear one that accuses Mayor Clark of being hard to work with or even unpleasant.
The Old Guard has a vested interest in doing things the same way they've been done for decades - deals done in secrecy with a wink and a nod.
The voters demand better.
The reason I and many others ran in 2021 is because we did not like the way things were being done at City Hall.
The reason there are seven new faces around the horseshoe is because the voters did not like the ways things were being done at City Hall.
The Invest Medicine Hat (IMH) /ORKA RFP fiasco was contentious, senior city staff actually changed the rules so that City employees could bid on it. Our CAO at the time, Bob Nicolay, insisted there was nothing wrong with the process.
I don’t recall Dumanowski speaking out about it when he was on Council. He seemed to be fine with that whole sneaky process.
Council even spent $75,000 of public monies to cover their asses when they asked Deloitte to review the RFP. Deloitte did its job but Council did not ask the right questions. The question I wanted answered was
“Did the City act unethically when the standard RFP contract was altered to allow City employees to bid on the RFP?”
Dumanowski has lost credibility; he’s shown he has no sense of ethics when it comes to City business. Dumanowski then attacks those who want things done properly.
Again, not a good look for a Catholic school principal.
