A group of concerned Saint John citizens are calling for a censure on Mayor Don Darling for his recent social media conduct.
In a letter to council, Douglas James, a member of the Saint John Citizen’s Coalition, says the mayor’s recent conduct violates council’s Code of Conduct.
James alleges the mayor “sparked an inflammatory exchange” on his Facebook page which led to many “vile” and “hateful” comments against the coalition. He says this breaches the city’s Code of Conduct.
Darling says council still doesn’t have many rules in place yet for the Code, as the document was only passed last month.
“The Code of Conduct is new, it was a new requirement by the provincial government. From there, we need to have processes in place to work through any concerns that folks have,” he said.
James also says in the letter that Darling is responsible for ensuring any exchanges on his page adhere to the “standards of common decency” and the code.
Darling says he doesn’t agree.
“The Coalition asked for, demanded in fact, an answer to their letter concerned about some of the things citizens said about some members (online). I don’t know if I’m responsible for that or not,” he said.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Darling says citizens are allowed to write letters—but he questions the legitimacy of the coalition.
“The citizens have a right to pen a letter, they have a right to say they don’t agree with something, that’s called democracy. I think it’s also important to understand what is and who is the Citizen’s Coalition?”
A similar letter was written reprimanding Councillor David Merrithew for a comment he left online.
In a Facebook post just after the council meeting, Darling announced he will be taking a break from social media.
Good evening everyone. It's been an extremely busy summer. I wanted to let you know, that I'm taking a break from social media. Please let folks know, if they are tagging me. Take care.
Posted by Don Darling on Monday, August 19, 2019
