Deputy Mayor Reacts To Conduct Breach

The deputy mayor of Quispamsis says council acted accordingly by suspending the mayor for breaching their code of conduct.

Gary Clark has been given a five-week suspension without pay following an incident at the qplex pool on July 18.

“It was decided that, because of the level of position that the mayor holds, we felt that [the sanctions] had to have some teeth, and it was agreed upon,” Libby O’Hara, the deputy mayor, told reporters after Tuesday’s meeting.

According to the complaint, filed by the chief administrative officer, Clark used someone else’s name to get into the pool for free.

Minutes earlier, he texted the CAO to say he could not make it to an EMO Planning Committee meeting because “something had happened to a family member and he was headed to the hospital.”

An investigation found Clark had purchased a family membership voucher for the pool, which was later activated by someone living in Rothesay. The memberships are designed for Quispamsis residents only.

Clark identified himself using one of the four names on the membership on July 18. His name was not on it.

The mayor later admitted to the allegations in a written response dated Sept. 14 and received five days later.

O’Hara said this is the first time the code of conduct had to be enforced since it was enacted last year.

“When this breach came to my desk, we followed [the code] to a T,” she said.

The deputy mayor said she hopes residents will see the town takes its bylaws very seriously.

“Council did their due diligence, they did the investigating, and we came up with what we feel are appropriate sanctions,” O’Hara said.

The suspension, which took effect Oct. 1, will remain in place until Nov. 5.