The town of Fort Macleod has put mayor Rene Gendre on a six-month suspension, citing that he has been acting outside the bounds of council procedure.
Gendre said the allegations are unfounded. Since becoming mayor last fall, he has been in strong support of bringing new businesses to the town.
“Have I solicited for the town? Absolutely. Have I negotiated for the town? No way. They could not bring forth anything that I did wrong. All they said was that I didn’t cooperate,” he said.
At this point, Gendre said he will not be resigning from his mayoral position.
“If Fort Macleod wants to progress, move ahead, and not stay mired in this petty nastiness that is happening right here then they’re going to have to change, and I’ve offered the change,” he says.
Town council says there was no other option – the mayor was acting outside their approval, making it difficult to agree on any decisions. They say it wasn’t easy voting in favour of the suspension.
Councillor Michael Dyck says Gendre has brought many positive ideas to Fort Macleod. “We weren’t trying to stifle his abilities or anything like that. We were just trying to make him work with council as a whole,” he says.
For Councillor Trish Hoskin, she says it wasn’t easy voting in favour of the suspension. But she says she hopes “people will begin to see that it’s a positive. You know that we can kind of move past what’s happened and begin to do the things that we’ve been wanting to do.”
Mayor Gendre’s suspension will begin July 1st. A review will take place towards the end of the six-month period to determine whether to reinstate Gendre or extend his suspension.
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