WATCH: The incumbent mayor in Mission, Ted Adlem, says he’s the target of a smear campaign falsely accusing him of sexual impropriety. Catherine Urquhart has the details.
A municipal defamation case involving alleged blackmailing of the mayor of Mission with scandalous sex claims has been revealed in court documents filed by the city’s current mayor and mayoral candidate Ted Adlem.
The defendant, who is alleged to have committed defamation and to have threatened further defamation, is named only as “John Doe”.
Last week, Adlem went to BC Supreme Court and asked for an order to get TELUS to release the IP address of the person sending the emails. He was granted that request last week.
In October, the mayor allegedly started to receive emails that threaten to reveal private information about his sex life if he doesn’t resign and back a competitor.
“Essentially I’ve been blackmailed by individuals through an email,” Adlem said. “Several strings of emails that we received suggesting that I am less than an honorable individual and demanding that I back out and throw the election and support someone else.”
Global News was provided a copy of the emails.
One excerpt stated:
If you want to avoid this and stop the personal attacks, dump the immoral one and grow up. The decision to release all this happens at the next personal attack.
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These emails were also allegedly sent out to the slate of candidates running with the mayor, called the Citizens for Responsible Municipal Government.
Mayor Adlem suspects a connection between the emails and former mission Councillor Ron Taylor. That is unproven and Taylor staunchly denies any involvement. He says police are welcome to seize his computer.
“I did not write them,” Taylor said.
“I had a note from TELUS saying they’d been asked to provide IP addresses, one of which was mine…another was not mine. I knew nothing about it until statement of claim. I had nothing to do with this…unequivocally”
Mayoral candidate Randy Hawes says the scandal is a black mark on his community and the entire campaign has been nasty.
Mission RCMP Sgt. Shaun Wright confirmed they opened an investigation late last week, which involves “communications received” by a candidate in the municipal election.
Adlem also filed a civil suit asking for punitive and aggravated damages.
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