Whitby, Ont.’s deputy mayor is under fire for a hot mic comment made during a council meeting earlier this week.
Chris Leahy was heard referring to Coun. Rhonda Mulcahy as “Big Rhonda” during a meeting on Monday, drawing backlash.
“In a hot mic moment, a colleague’s comments exposed a nickname,” Mulcahy said in a Facebook post Wednesday.
“It bears the question about what is being said with the mic is off.”
Mulcahy then discussed an apology she says she received from Leahy after the incident, suggesting his words sought to make excuses for what happened rather than directly address the comment.
“This incident is not the first at Whitby Council,” she alleged.
In a statement sent to Global News, Leahy said he “deeply” regrets his “inappropriate comment” Monday night.
“I reached out to my colleague on council and offered a heartfelt and sincere apology,” he said.
“My hope is that we can move forward and work together on council. I don’t want these comments to effect our ability to work together for residents. Those of us on council know that divisions have been running deep for a long time and this needs to change.”
Leahy also said he will be requesting that a mediation process be considered to “heal the divisions” on council.
Mitchell, meanwhile, said in a Facebook post that he has spoken to both Mulcahy and Leahy about the incident.
“I have advised all members of council that this is not in line with our code of conduct and the use of disrespectful language is not acceptable,” the post said.
Mitchell said council members will also undergo a code of conduct training review.