From: Ashu M. G.
Solo [mailto:amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us]
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2012 12:34 AM
To: amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us
Cc: 'mayors.office@saskatoon.ca'; 'randy.donauer@saskatoon.ca';
'eric.olauson@saskatoon.ca'; 'darren.hill@saskatoon.ca';
'pat.lorje@saskatoon.ca'; 'ann.iwanchuk@saskatoon.ca';
'troy.davies@saskatoon.ca'; 'charlie.clark@saskatoon.ca';
'mairin.loewen@saskatoon.ca'; 'tiffany.paulsen@saskatoon.ca';
zach.jeffries@saskatoon.ca
Subject: MEDIA ALERT: Saskatoon City Council Took No Action on Solo's
Code of Conduct Complaint against Mayor Don Atchison
Dear Media:
See the attached
letter I received from the new Saskatoon city clerk, Joanne Sproule, on the
outcome of my Code of Conduct complaint against Mayor Don Atchison for his
online campaign advertising. The city clerk forwarded a report on my Code
of Conduct complaint against Atchison to the Executive Committee. The
Executive Committee is what they call City Council members meeting in private. At a meeting yesterday, the Executive Committee/City Council
decided to take no action on my complaints.
The lack of action
was a cowardly action. By imposing no sanction against Atchison, City
Council has opened the door to council members violating the Code of Conduct
without punishment. I think City Council decided to protect one of its
own members from punishment. An independent individual or independent
committee should be assessing potential violations of the Code of Conduct.
Although I don’t
agree with the rule banning council members from using their titles in campaign
advertising, the rules must be enforced for those council members who violate
them. The people who make the rules must follow the rules.
How can Atchison
have the moral authority, honor, or integrity to make laws as the mayor if he
can’t follow the intent of rules and laws in the Saskatoon City Council Code of
Conduct, Saskatchewan Human Rights Code, and Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms? How can Atchison have the moral authority, honor, or integrity
to serve on the Board of Police Commissioners for the Saskatoon Police Service,
which enforces criminal and traffic law, if he can’t follow the intent of other
rules and laws in the Saskatoon City Council Code of Conduct, Saskatchewan
Human Rights Code, and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? Atchison
doesn’t have the moral authority, honor, or integrity to be on City Council or
to be on the Board of Police Commissioners. I believe that the Executive
Committee should have removed Atchison from the Board of Police
Commissioners. This sanction is allowed under the City Council Code of
Conduct (
http://www.saskatoon.ca/CITY%20COUNCIL/Pages/CodeofConduct.aspx).
Details of my Code
of Conduct complaint against Atchison follow in the emails below. I am
attaching a letter from the Saskatoon city clerk on the outcome of my Code of
Conduct complaint.
Best regards,
Ashu M. G. Solo
From: Sproule, Joanne (Clerks)
[mailto:Joanne.Sproule@Saskatoon.ca]
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2012 4:30 PM
To: 'amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us'
Subject: RE: Expansion of Formal Complaint against Candidate Don
Atchison
Good afternoon Mr. Solo,
With regard to your enquiry
below, a response is attached.
Best regards,
Joanne Sproule
City Clerk
From: Ashu M. G. Solo
[mailto:amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us]
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2012 4:49 AM
To: Mann, Janice (Clerks); Sproule, Joanne (Clerks)
Subject: RE: Expansion of Formal Complaint against Candidate Don
Atchison
Dear Janice Mann
and Joanne Sproule,
I heard that the
Executive Committee didn’t look at my Code of Conduct complaint against Mayor
Don Atchison yesterday. I received some media inquiries about this
yesterday. The media was wondering and I was wondering when the Executive
Committee will look at my complaint.
Best regards,
Ashu M. G. Solo
From: Mann, Janice (Clerks) [mailto:Janice.Mann@Saskatoon.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 8:18 AM
To: 'amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us'
Subject: RE: Expansion of Formal Complaint against Candidate Don
Atchison
Dear Mr. Solo
Thank you for your email.
Your expanded complaint will be placed before the Executive Committee at its
November 5th meeting.
I also want to advise you that
for complaints regarding the Code of Conduct the identity of the complainant(s)
will be made known to the Executive Committee and to the candidate against whom
the complaint is made. I assume that since you have copied all of
Council already you will still wish to proceed with your complaint; however if
that is not the case please let me know.
Yours sincerely,
Janice Mann
City Clerk
From: Ashu M. G. Solo [mailto:amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us]
Sent: October 17, 2012 7:54 AM
To: Mann, Janice (Clerks)
Cc: Web E-mail - Mayor's Office; Donauer, Randy (City Councillor);
Penner, Glen (City Councillor); Lorje, Pat (City Councillor); Iwanchuk, Ann
(City Councillor); Clark, Charlie (City Councillor); Loewen, Mairin (City
Councillor); Paulsen, Tiffany (City Councillor); Dubois, Bev (City Councillor);
Hill, Darren (City Councillor)
Subject: Expansion of Formal Complaint against Candidate Don Atchison
Dear Janice Mann:
I would like to
expand the scope of my formal complaint against candidate Don Atchison to also include
potential violations of the Saskatoon City Council Code of Conduct on his
campaign Web site and campaign Twitter account.
Candidate Tom Wolf
brought these potential Code of Conduct violations to light. Candidate
Atchison should have made sure that there were no other potential violations of
the City Council Code of Conduct after candidate Wolf brought these potential
Code of Conduct violations to light. However, candidate Atchison didn’t
do this because I found potential violations of the Code of Conduct on his
Facebook account.
I would now like my
formal complaint to cover all of the following campaign advertising actions
that potentially violated the City Council Code of Conduct:
1. References to
candidate Atchison as “Mayor Atchison,” “Mayor Atch,” and “Mayor of Saskatoon”
on his campaign Facebook account.
2. Reference to
candidate Atchison as “Mayor of Saskatoon” on his campaign Twitter account.
3. References to
candidate Atchison as “Mayor Don Atchison,” “Mayor Atchison,” and “Mayor of Saskatoon”
on his campaign Web site.
After my complaint,
candidate Atchison removed a bunch of videos from his campaign Web site.
This was reported in the StarPhoenix article entitled “Complaint filed over
Atchison’s use of ‘mayor’” by Charles Hamilton and David Hutton at
http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/Complaint+filed+over+Atchison+mayor/7335391/story.html.
The videos are now back on candidate Atchison’s campaign Web site. I
think the only likely reason that these videos would be temporarily removed
after my complaint is if they contained references to candidate Atchison as
“Mayor Atchison.” I believe the Executive Committee of City Council
should appoint an independent investigator to determine if this was the
case. If these videos violated the City Council Code of Conduct, I would
like to add this to my formal complaint.
Furthermore, it has
been brought to my attention by a citizen of Saskatoon that there was a Mayor’s
Cultural Gala insert in an issue of the StarPhoenix in the first week of
October 2012 ,and that this insert contained numerous references to candidate
Atchison as “Mayor Atchison.” I don’t have a copy of this insert, I
haven’t seen it, and I don’t know if it constitutes campaign advertising.
I think if there is an independent investigator, she should also look into this.
If this Mayor’s Cultural Gala insert violated the City Council Code of
Conduct, I would like to add this to my formal complaint.
I don’t agree with
banning references to council members as “Mayor X” or “Councillor Y” in
campaign advertising. I don’t think this is important to ban and I think
this should be changed by City Council. However, because this is
prohibited by the City Council Code of Conduct approved by City Council, the
rules must be followed by all council members. Because of potential
violations of the City Council Code of Conduct, I believe that candidate
Atchison has unethically gained an advantage over the other candidates for the
extremely important office of mayor.
I’m copying this
email message to City Council and blind copying it to various media outlets, so
they can be aware of the expansion of this important formal complaint against
candidate Atchison.
I’m making this
complaint because in a democracy, the government doesn’t just hold citizens
accountable, but citizens hold government accountable. Not only is the
business of government the business of people, but the business of people is
the business of government.
Best regards,
Ashu M. G. Solo
From: Ashu M. G. Solo [mailto:amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us]
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 2:39 AM
To: ‘City Clerk’s Office’
Subject: Potential Violations of the City Council Code of Conduct by Don
Atchison
Dear City Clerk’s
Office:
I just took a look
at Atchison’s official campaign account on the social network Facebook (
http://www.facebook.com/DonAtchisonSaskatoon/info).
On the “About” page of this Facebook account, there are five references to
Atchison as “Mayor Atchison” and a reference to him as “Mayor Atch” in his
biography and awards. There are also five references to Atchison as
“Mayor of Saskatoon” on the “About” page of his Facebook account. The
text for his biography and awards on this Facebook page follows below. I
am also attaching a screen capture of this Facebook page.
From Don Atchison’s
Facebook page:
Biography
Don Atchison was first elected to
Saskatoon city council in 1994 and served as councillor up to his election as
mayor in 2003. He was re-elected mayor in 2006 and again in 2009. Throughout
his years in public office, he has never wavered from his commitment to the
inclusion of all Saskatoon citizens and neighbourhoods. He strives to see all
sides of the issues and to work in partnership to create
the greatest benefit for all citizens of
Saskatoon.
Mayor Atchison inspires confidence in our collective ability to achieve bold
visions. After decades of indecision, River Landing is now evolving before our
eyes, and the South Bridge – first discussed almost a century ago – will soon
be spanning the South Saskatchewan.
But “thinking big” isn’t just about big structures; Mayor Atchison has been
equally as adamant about finding innovative ways to fund affordable housing,
rejuvenate neighbourhoods, reduce crime and involve people from all walks of
life in the decisions about our future, such as through the “Saskatoon Speaks”.
His vision and pursuit of excellence for Saskatoon is as wide as it is
deep.
“Atch” learned the value of teamwork early in his life. Growing up in
Saskatoon, he was involved in a variety of activities. He especially loved
sports, where his talent as a hockey goaltender led to playing in the
professional leagues. After hockey, he returned to Saskatoon and his family’s
retail business. He and his wife Mardele have remained committed Saskatoon,
where they have raised their five children.
In recognition of his work, Mayor Atchison has received a number of honours,
including being named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary
International; the Medal of Merit by the International Association of Lions
Clubs; and the Saskatchewan Centennial Award.
What is his greatest honour? Ask Mayor Atch and he will quickly reply, “Serving
the greatest city in Canada.”
Awards
|
In
recognition of his work, Mayor Atchison has received a number of honours,
including being named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary
International; the Medal of Merit by the International Association of Lions
Clubs; the Consumer Choice Man of the Year Award; and the Canadian Sport
Tourism Alliance President's Award for Public Sector Supporter.
|
I don’t agree with
banning references to council members as “Mayor X” or “Councillor Y” in
campaign advertising. However, because this is prohibited by the City
Council Code of Conduct approved by City Council, the rules should be followed
by all council members.
Atchison’s Facebook
account was created on September 5, 2012 obviously for his reelection
campaign. I assume he has been violating the City Council Code of Conduct
since then.
I strongly believe
that Don Atchison should be sanctioned in accordance with the City Council Code
of Conduct.
I am blind copying
this email to Tom Wolf, various media outlets, and Don Atchison, so they can
also be aware of these potentially serious violations of the City Council Code
of Conduct by Don Atchison.
I look forward to
your response.
Best regards,
Ashu M. G. Solo