Mayor should resign, says man who sparked OPP probe

The man who brought allegations against Mayor Larry O'Brien to the attention of authorities is calling for the mayor's resignation in the wake of two criminal charges against him.

Sean McKenny, president of the Ottawa and District Labour Council, said themayor's situationwill make it difficult for council tohandle the2008 city budget and other tasks.

"Just to move us forward with respect to the way that our city is able to perform, it's logical that he steps down until such time as the charges are dealt with," said McKenny.

Ottawa city council was set to hold a special meeting Monday evening to discuss whether O'Brien should step down after being charged Monday morning with two counts under the Criminal Code of Canada.

Instead, the meeting lasted barely 10 minutes with councillors voting abruptly to adjourn.The decision cameafter city solicitor Rick O'Connor cautioned councillors against making any public comment about the charges.

O'Brien has said heis "ready, willing and able" to continue doing his job.Earlier Monday, he saidhewould consult with the public and hear from councillors at the special meeting before making a final decision.

He is under no legal obligation to resign afterbeing accused of offering to helpTerry Kilrea, arival for the mayor's seat in the 2006 election,get a job on the National Parole Board if Kilrea dropped out of the race allegations that have not been proven in court.

McKenny faxed a swornaffidavitfrom Kilrea,containing the allegations against O'Brien, to Premier Dalton McGuinty, Municipal Affairs Minister John Gerretsen, Attorney General Michael Bryant and Hillary McCormack, Ottawas Crown attorney, in February, leading to the OPP investigation.

McKennysaid O'Brien is innocent until proven guilty.

However, he said, "This is serious. This is the mayor of the capital of the country. This isn't, as I indicated before, traffic infractions."

'It's his decision to make': councillor

Unlike McKenny, city councillors were reluctant to weigh in publicly on whether the mayor should resign ahead of Monday night's meeting.

"It is his decision to make," said Coun. Rainer Bloess. "I think what he's really got to look at is how these charges will impact on him in terms of running council or leading council, and how will it affect council."

'He'll have to decide for himself if he has the moral authority to govern and the support of the people to govern effectively while fighting criminal charges.' Coun. Diane Deans

Coun. Alex Cullen suggested that some of the mayor's responsibilities might need to behanded offto other councillors, such as representing the city in talks with higher levels of government.

"The reality is the chief magistrate of the city is engaged in a legal process that's going to take his time and attention, and is already affecting city business," Cullen said.

"It would be wise to ensure that there is an arrangement with city council so that the city's business can get done and he can devote what he needs to devote to his defence. And that means a change in the status quo."

Coun. Diane Deans said there is another question the mayor needs to consider.

"He'll have to decide for himself if he has the moral authority to govern and the support of the people to govern effectively while fighting criminal charges directly related to the office of mayor," she said.

Meanwhile, Coun. Rick Chiarelli played down the effect of the charges.

"The potential of charges has been hanging over this room for about a year, and that's a distraction," he said. "But we've learned to operate and move with the elephant in the room and I think we will just proceed that way."

Councillors to offer suggestions, support

Coun. Maria McRae said she will support whatever the mayor does.

"If he decides that he would like a motion passed to give him time to step aside or to take a leave of absence to focus on this,in the same way we've done it for other colleagues for other personal reasons, I'd be happy to support that," she said.

Coun. Marianne Wilkinson said she doesn't think the mayor should have to resign, given that he denies the accusations.

"It's not right if somebody is innocent for them to give something up simply becausepeople think he might not be innocent," she said.

She added that at the meeting Monday night, councillors wouldgivethe mayorsuggestions and offer to help out with some of his responsibilities.

The charges concern allegations that O'Brien offered during the summer of 2006 to help his former mayoral rival, Terry Kilrea, get a job on the National Parole Board if Kilrea dropped out of the race.

The first charge is that O'Brien pretended to have influence with the Government of Canada or with a minister of the government when he allegedly made the offer to Kilrea, contrary to Sec. 121 of the Criminal Code, frauds on the government.

The second charge is that O'Brien negotiated an appointment contrary to Sec. 125 of the Criminal Code, influencing or negotiating appointments or dealing in offices.

Police allege the offences took place between July 10 and Aug. 8, 2006, while Kilrea and O'Brien were both running for mayor on right-of-centre platforms in the 2006 election.

Kilrea alleged in a sworn affidavitthat O'Brien offered him two rewards if he dropped out of the race:

• To cover $30,000 of his campaign expenses.
• To help him get a job on the National Parole Board that he had expressed interest in.

Kilrea did drop out of the mayoral race, but said he never accepted anything in exchange.

The Ontario Provincial Police announced in March that their anti-rackets section had launched an investigation into the allegations.

According to a police search warrant application made by police in May and released to the media in October, Kilrea was told by O'Brien to contact John Baird, a federal cabinet minister who was president of the Treasury Board at the time.

O'Brien has denied the allegations.