A small Alberta town is in a difficult position after a longtime municipal official was arrested and charged.
Anita Marie Fisher, 62, a councillor with the Town of Devon and former mayor, was charged with uttering threats and criminal harassment on Aug. 31, RCMP said.
Devon RCMP said the victim began receiving “multiple harassing and intimidating messages on their voicemail” between July 31 and Aug. 30.
Fisher is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 2. RCMP said the accused was arrested Aug. 31, remanded for 30 days, reviewed, and remanded again.
Mayor Jeff Craddock said Fisher has not been able to attend council meetings.
“The situation we have currently, she hasn’t been able to attend because she’s incarcerated. But when she was available, she was attending though video conference, and that, we allowed,” he said in an interview on Friday.
Council — now just six people — also put several resolutions in place to protect the health and safety of staff, Craddock said. The resolutions include that Fisher only communicates through the town’s chief administrative officer and that town administration contacts Alberta Municipal Affairs for help in addressing the concerns regarding Fisher.
“We removed her from committees and boards,” the mayor added.
He explained the town will follow the rules outlined in the Alberta Municipal Government Act and the Local Authorities Act. According to the MGA, a councillor can be disqualified if they are absent for eight consecutive weeks or if a councillor is convicted of an offence punishable with five or more years in jail or an offence under Section 123, 124 or 125 of the Criminal Code.
Constituents can also petition to remove a municipal councillor.
“A lot of people think that the town has powers to remove and we really do not,” Craddock said.
“We haven’t reached that point and it’s one of those things that when we get there, we’ll have to have a discussion with council on how we move forward.”
He said the situation is a difficult one — professionally and personally.
“We need her on council. She brings a lot to it, and now instead of having seven to make a decision, there’s six.
“To know the family and know everything they’re going through — my heart goes out to them,” Craddock said.
“No one wants to see a person struggle… She’s a five-time elected person to this town. To be on council and to be a previous mayor… It’s sad to see that maybe there’s struggles.”
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