A confrontation between the mayor of Port Moody, B.C., and a city councillor at a taxpayer-funded event is renewing calls to reinstate a municipal ethics commissioner.
The incident happened at last year’s networking reception hosted by Metro Vancouver in Toronto, which cost taxpayers nearly $65,000 and was shut down early.
Port Moody councillor Haven Lurbiecki said Mayor Meghan Lahti became physical with her during a heated conversation at the event.
“That experience was horrible,” Lurbiecki told Global News.
“It was embarrassing personally and professionally.”
Lurbiecki said the mayor argued with her even after being asked to stop and grabbed her wrist as she tried to walk away.
“The mayor continued to re-engage with me even when we asked her to stop. and at one point even reached out and grabbed my wrist while I was trying to leave,” she said.
Lahti declined an interview, deferring comment to councillor Kyla Knowles who had a different account of what happened.
“That is absolutely contrary to what I saw,” she said.
“There was no physical contact whatsoever. In fact, if anything, I would say the aggression was coming from councillor Lurbiecki.
While the councillors disagree about what happened, both agree it was embarrassing for Port Moody and that it highlights an overall lack of civility in civic politics.
“If you’re an elected official there’s not anywhere you can go to say what happened to you… much less seek accountability,” Lurbiecki said.
They would like to see a municipal ethics commissioner put in place who would investigate complaints at the municipal level.