Politics Councillor Bruce Court says he has no confidence in Stephen Chase

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Reid Southwick
Telegraph-Journal

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SAINT JOHN - Councillor Bruce Court wants Stephen Chase stripped of his position as deputy mayor.

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Stephen Chase

Bruce Court

Court believes Chase does a bad job representing the city and he has no confidence in the veteran politician.

"I don't have any faith in him; I find that he's off on his own agenda and I don't believe in what he's doing," Court said Tuesday.

"I think he's being negative towards the city and he should be promoting the city in a positive way and not the way he's going."

Court said he disagrees with the deputy mayor's positions on the value of public-private partnerships, the best way to fund new water treatment plants and reforming the city's pension plan, among other issues.

When asked for comment, Chase said he respects Court and dismissed the councillor's comments as an indication of a difference in political ideologies.

"(Court) has got an orientation towards organized labour and I have a different orientation and that has manifested itself in the way we approach council," Chase said.

"I fully respect his ideology and it creates that balance on council. His respect is important to me and I respect his perspective."

Court's displeasure with Chase's performance came to a head Monday night, when council passed a motion that asked the city solicitor to look into rotating the deputy mayor's position among councillors during a four-year mandate.

At the time, there was some question about the real motivation behind the vote.

Coun. Chris Titus said the vote was a referendum on council's confidence in Chase, and Titus stressed he had faith in his colleague's ability to carry out his duties.

"I will go on record as saying I support the deputy mayor," Titus said. "The fundamental issue is, do you have confidence in that position? And if you do, then let's move on to something important; if you don't, have the intestinal fortitude like Coun. Court to say he doesn't."

Titus said council voted to appoint Chase for a four-year term and any decision to change the appointment process would reflect a desire to remove him from office.

Court expressed his lack of confidence in the deputy mayor, although he didn't offer any reasons at the time.

Coun. Carl Killen, who presented the motion, said he had no political motivation to oust Chase and simply wanted council to fairly share the deputy mayor's position.

Killen said all councillors should be recognized as equals and should have the same shot at securing the deputy mayor's chair.

Traditionally, the council candidate who polled the most votes in the municipal election became deputy mayor. With the advent of the new ward system, the previous council decided by resolution that the at-large councillor with the most votes should become deputy mayor.

And the current council unanimously selected Chase to serve for the four-year term.

In his original motion, Killen proposed selecting the same at-large councillor to sit as deputy mayor for one year and the ward councillors who earned the most votes in their wards would secure the position for nine-month terms.

Under this scheme, Killen would not stand to benefit because Coun. Donnie Snook secured more votes in Ward 3 in the election.

City solicitor John Nugent said he wanted to study the matter further before he could offer any opinions about whether council could appoint a new deputy mayor just a year into its term.

A majority of councillors followed the advice and referred the matter to their lawyer, with only Titus voting against the motion.

Even Chase voted for it.

Coun. Court said Tuesday he wanted to change the appointment process Monday night because he doesn't believe it's fair that the deputy mayor retains his position for four years and he doesn't have faith in Chase.

When pressed for specifics, Court said Chase's support for public-private partnerships as a means to fund infrastructure projects, namely sewage and water treatment plants, is misplaced.

Court said he believes private investors will want to control the water supply, should they fund a new treatment system in the city.

Court also said Chase should not try to reform the city's public pension fund without consulting employees first, although a majority of council members have voted with Chase to make changes to the plan.

Court wouldn't comment on whether he has faith in other councillors who voted in favour of reforms, saying he made his comments simply because Killen's motion was about the deputy mayor.

"Everybody knows you have to have changes, but negotiate with them; don't get the members all upset," Court said. "I just don't like the way (Chase) does business as a councillor or as deputy mayor."

Chase has written an opinion piece in the Telegraph-Journal highlighting what he said was a need to consult with employee groups and retirees before reforming the pension plan.