For the record
Election violations noted
October 15, 2006

Improper use of city staff and vehicles for election campaigns was the subject of a discussion at the end of last Wednesday evening's city council meeting. The exchange has been transcribed by CATCH and is reproduced below.

Dave Braden : [36:24] “Mr Mayor, if I can ask through you to the clerk. I'd like to know who is responsible for monitoring the use of city facilities, city car, city driver, city personnel during regular office hours, if it appears that they're being used for a particular campaign?”

Clerk : “Mr Mayor, if there is an alleged violation that someone feels, a knowledgeable elector would make application to the city clerk's office and it would be forwarded to the compliance audit committee – the one that council established.”

Braden : “ …I think these things are better dealt with now. I was at a mayor's debate, couple of weeks ago, the mayor was there, I was there, candidate Eisenberger was there, and a member of the city personnel was there who I believe is in the mayor's office. And this is during normal working days. So I need to know if a councillor can – I don't really want to bring a formal complaint – but I think that these things need to be dealt with and they need to be gotten rid of, because we don't need these kinds of concerns. So how can these things be cleared up now, rather than waiting?”

Clerk begins to answer but is interrupted by Mayor Di Ianni : “I should answer that, since it's addressed to me, and has concerns over the use of city vehicle, or city staff for that matter. I'll be pleased to respond to that. Let me deal with that, and you've asked directly. Um, I'm very careful and I have been careful, and my staff has very strict instructions around the use of their time, especially staff that is being paid for out of my office budget. I'm very careful as well, understanding fully that I'm mayor 24/7. Even when I'm campaigning, I'm the mayor, but I try to distinguish very carefully the campaign from my role and my duties as mayor. Sometimes there is overlap, but I've been very careful to outline both to my staff, and have taken some steps to ensure that in fact staff working my campaign are no longer on the payroll of the city. And that includes two members of my staff – one of whom has been off since the summer; one of whom has been off since last week of September – not on the city payroll. And, and that is verifiable.

“The debate that you talk about and, and cable 14, in fact I did have one of my communications staff with me – not in the studio – as always happens whenever I as a mayor attend to the studio, was waiting outside because we had a session right after that. Members of the media were there, at HECFI. That was the day that HECFI unveiled its fall lineup. So we went from that studio to a mayor's duty – albeit ceremonial – during the HECFI, um, commitment. And, and in fact I can tell you that I am logging – understanding that I do have a city vehicle at my disposal – I am logging the kilometres that I travel when I go to campaign events. So last night at the debate, for example, both in Clappison's Corners and Rockton, was a total of 26 kilometres one way, double that both ways, that will come out of the campaign funds, not out of city coffers. So I'm being very careful in terms of staff and in terms of what I do as a mayor during the campaign. People who ran for mayor I understand did that, but I'm being very, very careful.”

Braden : “I appreciate the answer. I just, I raise this because in fact I actually did something I shouldn't do either, and that was I had my assistant call – and I'm also pretty careful about this, particular with other people's time and money and vehicles. But I asked my assistant to actually call somebody from here, just a telephone call, and I was caught at it. And I thought, shoot, I really try not to do that. And the reason I ask is because it's much better to clarify these things now, and it's much better for all of us to be careful. Merely because I'm out of the race doesn't make it just sort of easy for me, because in fact, a reporter caught me straight off cause that, my assistant, who shouldn't have done it, but I mean he's going to do what I ask him to do, made a call to a person that's in the press. And that in fact is very tempting to do, and I didn't realize that it was wrong. So I raise the issue because everybody will be better off, I believe, by raising the issue. Thank you.”

DiIanni : “No, it's a good issue to raise and I'm glad that I was able to explain the situation I've set up. Thank you.” [41:39]

Section 70(4) of the Municipal Elections Act specifically prohibits municipalities from contributing to election campaigns. For example, councillors cannot use their city email addresses to send campaign materials.

Braden registered to run for mayor on September 12 but withdrew from the race on October 2.

Di Ianni was challenged by the Hamilton Spectator in June of last year about payments of $18,000 by the city to his campaign manager from the 2003 election. In his defence of the contracts the mayor stated: “Look at my office. I hired everybody I could who was on my campaign – Mario Joannette (chief of staff), Gurchuran Dhaliwal, my special assistant, and Lorraine Carroll, my community relations officer."

The newspaper reported in early August of this year, that Joannette has taken an unpaid leave of absence to manage Di Ianni's current election campaign.