'I'll never be their puppet': Tracadie mayor defends style after 4th councillor quits

The future of Tracadie municipal politics is looking very uncertain, as yet another departure shook council late last week.

Raymonde Robichaud resigned from council Thursday, making her the fourth to quit in just six months. She blamed the mayor.

"He's not a leader," said Robichaud. "It's his way or the highway."

• 'No one will silence me': Tracadie mayor shakes things up

Robichaud denounced what she described as a climate of intimidation brought on by the mayor.

"It's impossible to work with someone like that who shows zero openness, or respect."

Denis Losier, a 55-year-old retired school principal, was a rookie politician when he was voted in as mayor in 2016.

Public outings on Facebook

Trouble started brewing last year, when he went public with a series of allegations about the previous administration's spending.

It included thousands of dollars spent on Christmas parties and gifts to employees, as Losier portrayed those running the regional municipality as a free-spending club.

In fact, on his Facebook page,the public outings against Tracadiecouncillors have been very much part of Losier's"take-no-prisoners" mayoral style.

And the biweekly Monday night council meetings have been eventful.

At one point, Losier even invited citizens of Tracadie to go to the police to file complaints against councillors, according to Robichaud, who admits she skipped meetings because she feared for her safety.

"How many times did we get insulted during meetings?" she said.

"It's not just us that's the problem. The big problem is the mayor, and he needs to resign."

Losier defends his style.

In an interview with Radio-Canada, he admitted he doesn't always listen to councillors.

"I've always told council I'll never be their puppet," he said.

"As an elected official accountable to the population, I will tell the truth and expose facts. It's what I've done since the beginning of my mandate, and it's what I'll continue to do."

Robichaud's departure came less than a day after another councillor, AndreSaulnier, called it quits Thursday.

"My health took a hit," Saulnier told Radio-Canada. "I had to leave. The past two years were very difficult."

Two other councillors, Denis McLaughlin and Norma McGraw, have jumped ship since May.

'I lived it'

Ginette Brideau Kirwin is one of six councillors who remain.

She described the same toxic climate as Robichaud.

"I lived it," said Brideau Kirwin.

"We ask women to run in politics. Let me tell you, it depends on who you work with, because they'll put you through the wringer."

Despite the difficulties, Brideau Kirwin said she is planning to stay on council until her mandate ends in 2020, "for the sake of citizens."

She worries how a council of only seven will be able to function, with six people needed for a quorum, no room forabsentees, and no byelection planned until next May to fill the vacancies.

Her main concern, though, are the poor finances of the municipality.

It's hard to tell what the source of the problem is, as the mayor and councillors have been passing the buck.

Council, which is supposed to have 10 councillors plus the mayor, has been so divided, Losier threatened to quit last February. A mediator had to be brought in.

According to Losier, Tracadie's$400,000 deficit dates back several years.

"I inherited that problem, and I'm having to deal with it," he said.

Brideau Kirwin said councillors haven't seen a financial report since last April.

She said that's no way to run a municipality.

"We don't know where we're going. It's getting frustrating. It feels like we're being kept in the dark you're asking yourself what you're doing here," she said.