Additional Information

Additional relevant Information Regarding Misconduct:  

From the mayor's filling of a vacant seat on the Council, through the last Council election, to the more recent Castle Lake MHP issue I have blogged about the mayor and what I consider his ethically challenged administration.

During April I brought up his KSU comments of March 19, wherein he was very critical of the treatment of Castle Lake residents by the owners/management of this soon to be sold MHP.

This was newsworthy due to his having been seen as being entirely supportive of the Park owners and their pending sale, even to the extent of rushing through the Council both annexation and rezoning over a course of 28 days from announcement in a State of the City speech to Council approval of both items but without any more than smoke and mirrors promises of a 'relocation package' for park residents.

Thus, his March 2014 bombastic and negative statements about the Park owners/management seemed in direct conflict with his prior actions on their behalf. 

The information reached both the Canadian Ergas owners and the Vancouver Sun newspaper via my blog and it seems that the mayor felt the necessity in early June to disclaim those statements by alleging libel, slander and saying in part via his allegations repeated by the City Attorney in his 3 page letter that:
 "Another example of false and defamatory offered as the Mayor's misquotes are as follows:
*  "The mobile home residents are just being lied to everyday by the seller who is more interested in keeping his monthly cash flow . . .
*  What the owner is doing is borderline unethical in my opinion . . .
 *  He is having his managers tell the tenants the land is not sold, which technically it is not, so he is continuing to rent to unsuspecting tenants never bothering to tell them they may have to  be gone by June of this year. . .
  *  It's pitiful, taking something super positive and it gets undermined by the residents not even knowing they are about to be put out."

The mayor informed the City Attorney and Council, in part via an 'executive session' that he was the victim of my blog sites having libeled, slandered, misquoted him and had the City attorney and the City Attorney's firm of Bentley, Bentley and Bentley do extensive research over at least 4 days (June 16, 17, 19 and 20th) and 49 visits to my blog site, the result being the referenced 3 page 'Cease and Desist, Demand for Retraction' letter which cost as of mid-July $1,055.47 of City money.

Various attempts at 'service' of this missive were tried, initially via certified mail, then via process server (cost $180.00) and when both were unsuccessful, information reached me via those in the City administration that he was "running around City Hall trying to find someone who knows you to invite you out to lunch so you can then be served with the letter." and that "he has someone watching your house to serve you when you leave."

Shortly after this the City Attorney received information from several responsible parties working for/at/with the City, that the quotes complained about, which were the focus of the letter, were entirely accurate, already known about by various people in the City administration and had been available for several months as well as being available on my blog site http://mayormathews.blogspot.com/.

At this point efforts to have this letter 'served' stopped, leaving the City with a useless and unserved 3 page letter and a bill which will probably top out at around $1,500.

This mayor has a long standing reputation for being a bully and this charge has appeared both at Council meetings and via an article in the MDJ.*

In this complained about instance the mayor has over stepped and has used City employees and City funds in his latest futile attempt at bullying.

It is time that the mayor be sent a firm message via public reprimand or censure that such activity will not be tolerated and misuse of City personnel and funds in a private spat is unacceptable.



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* "2 Councilwomen, Resident Accuse mayor of Bullying" by Rachel Gray, MDJ Reporter, January 22, 2014, see:  http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/24435413/article-2-councilwomen--resident-accuse-mayor-of-bullying