Mayor’s bid to move Doyle from Special Events leads to fireworks

By Craig Westcott/January 27, 2023

What might have been expected to be an ordinary assignment of liaison roles on external committees turned out be anything but at Carbonear council on Tuesday.

A hint of a sunker in the water may have lain in the last-minute addition of the item to council’s agenda.

The dispute began with Mayor Frank Butt announcing the appointments, which included councillor Ray Noel returning to the Harbour Authority, councillor Chris O’Grady returning to the Theatre Board, and Deputy Mayor Sam Slade leaving Heritage and going to Special Events. Council’s liaison position with the Heritage Committee remained open, Butt noted, and asked for a volunteer.

“Excuse me,” said councillor Danielle Doyle. “We had a big discussion, and I was remaining on Special Events.”

Butt disagreed. He said late last year he e-mailed council asking if anyone had a preference for any of the committees, but only heard from two people, O’Grady and Noel, who asked to stay where they were. Slade, meanwhile, had expressed a desire to leave the Heritage committee and become council’s liaison on Special Events. 

“I wrote you back and we discussed it here, and I was staying on Special Events,” Doyle countered. 

There are other committees where Slade can go, if he doesn’t want Heritage, and if other councillors shift around, Doyle contended. 

“I do not wish to come off Special Events at this time,” she said.

Slade noted when he was mayor, he changed the committee representation regularly.

“We had a huge conversation here and we were all present,” Doyle said. “I have been asked by members of Special Events to stay on. We’re in the process of planning Winter Carnival, we had a meeting Sunday night, I went to the recreation master plan review with the Special Events committee last week. I put a lot into Special Events. I have written you personally an e-mail. I have expressed it to everybody in this room that I want to stay on Special Events, and I will be quite upset if I am removed from a committee that I want to be on because another councillor expresses that he doesn’t want to be on Heritage… I don’t think I should have to pay the price for somewhere that I’m happy and I feel that I’m contributing, and I have given a lot of time over the past two years.”

Butt didn’t acknowledge Doyle’s comments, but again called for someone to volunteer for Heritage. “Councillor Doyle, would you like to be the liaison for the Carbonear Heritage Society?” he asked.

“In addition to Special Events?” asked Doyle.

No, indicated the mayor, repeating the only person who had expressed interest in Special Events was Slade.

“I don’t know how many more times I can say it,” said Doyle, who called on her fellow councillors to confirm the discussion at the privileged meeting in which she said she wanted to stay on Special Events.

“I feel this is a personal vendetta against me here this evening,” Doyle said.

Butt ruled that comment out of order, and insisted he only received two responses to his e-mail. He again called for a volunteer liaison for the Heritage Society.

“I am absolutely mind blown here tonight,” said Doyle.

Noel said if Doyle maintains that she e-mailed the mayor, then that should be checked out.

“I have to support councillor Doyle on her involvement in this municipality, not just as a part of council, but in everything else that she has been a part of,” Noel added. “If somebody is a dedicated volunteer, is there anything that says there can’t be two people from council to remain part of such a demanding committee as Special Events? … I hate to see us fighting over this, because that’s what’s it coming down to. It’s unfair… Volunteers now are more scarce than they’ve ever been in the past and the last thing we need to do is upset a committee or individual members of committees or liaisons. I’d like to see us move this forward in a very positive way.”

Councillor Peter Snow noted he and councillor Malcolm Seymour would have no problem sharing the liaison role on Heritage. He said he liked Noel’s idea of two people on a committee. “It’s double the manpower, or person power,” he said.

Councillor Chris O’Grady cautioned the number of council representatives may be governed by the committee’s terms of reference. In the case of the Theatre Board, only one council position is allowed.

“You said you like to shake up committees,” O’Grady added, addressing the mayor. “But that’s not what you did the last four years. We had people on committees for the entire term last council… Councillor Doyle is, as councillor Noel said, extremely dedicated and she puts a lot of effort into the Special Events. It’s a lot of work. I see no reason to move her off.”

Slade harkened back to Doyle’s comment that a vendetta was being pursued against her. 

“There’s no such thing by me, or the mayor, I’m pretty sure,” said Slade. “I don’t see it.”

Seymour chastised Doyle for using “mafia” talk. “I think vendetta is a bad word to be used,” he said. “I have noting against you, councillor Doyle, whatsoever.”

After several more minutes of arguing, and a couple of attempts by Butt to call a vote on his list of appointees, Noel moved that the mayor adjourn the meeting. 

“I don’t think we should vote on this tonight,” agreed O’Grady.

Snow suggested council hold another privileged meeting to figure it out. “I don’t think we’re going anywhere now, we’re just kind of spinning our wheels in the mud,” he said.

Seymour agreed, arguing council should make the decision in a private meeting.

Put to a vote, council agreed to adjourn for the evening.