Not long ago, Richard Atwell said this: 鈥淚鈥檓 running for mayor because Saanich needs a mayor who listens, a mayor who is approachable and a mayor who will work collaboratively with others. I will make decisions through an open and transparent process and be accountable to you.鈥�
On Monday, Atwell 鈥� in his sixth week as mayor 鈥� held a news conference at which he accused city staff of putting spyware on his computer, accused the police of harassing him by pulling over his car four times and demanded an investigation into whether police leaked information on a domestic disturbance at a campaign worker鈥檚 home. He also said he lied last week when he denied having an affair with the campaign worker.
As a new mayor and a political newcomer, Atwell faces a tough task. He has to establish himself, learn his role and responsibilities, and build trust 鈥� with employees, fellow councillors and voters.
It hasn鈥檛 helped that he is rarely in the office. It hasn鈥檛 helped that he engineered the removal of the municipality鈥檚 top manager without authorization, and without working with him for even one minute. Paul Murray was a veteran Saanich employee, and could have ensured that Atwell was up to speed on policies and procedures.
It also hasn鈥檛 helped that Atwell has been 鈥渘ot totally truthful,鈥� to use his term, on more than one occasion.
It also hasn鈥檛 helped that the Saanich Police Association and the Saanich Firefighters Association endorsed Atwell鈥檚 rival, incumbent Frank Leonard, in the Nov. 15 mayoral race. The police must be politically neutral, not siding for or against a candidate.
Atwell was the clear victor in the election, with 14,178 votes to Leonard鈥檚 13,152. When Atwell took office, more than half of the people who cared enough to vote were on his side. Now, he appears to believe that almost everyone is against him.
Spector 360, the program that Atwell called 鈥渟pyware,鈥� is commonly used security software for monitoring employees鈥� computers. A statement from city council on Tuesday said security software was installed on a number of computers in response to an external audit last May that identified possible threats to the municipality鈥檚 system.
Atwell said he never gave his consent and asked Saanich police to investigate. Police and former police complaint commissioner Dirk Ryneveld, a lawyer, looked into the issue and said that nothing criminal was done. There is no expectation of privacy on the municipality鈥檚 computers.
Atwell鈥檚 response on Tuesday was to say the police are in a conflict of interest and he wants an investigation by the current complaint commissioner. It was Atwell who asked the police to investigate. Now he says they are in a conflict of interest. How can he work with anyone at Saanich municipal hall if he is throwing accusations at city staff and the police?
And it鈥檚 not only his own police. Atwell鈥檚 accusations of harassment by the regional Integrated Road Safety Unit are particularly serious. He says police pulled him over twice during the election campaign, once when was mayor-elect and once when he was mayor. He was twice asked to take a breathalyzer test and passed both times.
He said he wants the head of the unit to look into the case, but RCMP Staff Sgt. James Anderson says he has received no formal complaint from Atwell.
We are less than two months into Atwell鈥檚 term as mayor, and it has been a rocky start. He has 46 months to turn things around and prove that his supporters were not wrong.
To do that, he will need to be approachable, collaborative, open and accountable 鈥� all things he promised in the fall.
