Posts to her "X" account that showed pictures of Londoners who are homeless have earned Susan Stevenson a reprimand from her council colleagues.
The often controversial Ward 4 councillor said the process that led to the Integrity Commissioner's report on her actions didn't follow the city's council code of conduct, but her colleagues disagreed and voted to reprimand her by a 9-6 margin at a meeting on Tuesday.
Stevenson claimed that she was not properly served notice about the investigation and did not have a chance to provide the Integrity Commissioner with a response.
"There were 36 complainants of record in this investigation," said Janice Atwood, one of the two lawyers who serves as London's integrity commissioner. "It is difficult to imagine administering such a process. Service is undefined in the protocol."
26 of those complaints were for posting an article suggesting the arrest of people who are homeless. 10 were related to the photos.
Atwood appeared at the meeting to explain the report's findings to councillors.
"Councillor Stevenson was entitled to know what was at issue and to be given an opportunity to respond," Atwood added. "She certainly was given that opportunity before the investigation was completed."
Stevenson was the subject of an investigation already when she made the posts about homeless Londoners to her X account, and "acknowledged that she attempted unsuccessfully" to blur the faces of the people in the photos, according to Atwood.
Atwood also noted that Stevenson had been provided a draft report before their findings became public, and asked her to provide comment on the findings, which Stevenson did not do in a "substantive" matter.
"Some major findings of this report were false. I had no opportunity to correct them," Stevenson said at the meeting. "I reject the findings of this report."
"No evidence is presented to support the claims made," Stevenson added.
Stevenson did not say which portions of the report were false.
After a debate, Mayor Josh Morgan, Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, and councillors Hadleigh McAlister, Peter Cuddy, Corrine Rahman, Anna Hopkins, Skylar Franke, Elizabeth Peloza, and David Ferreria voted for the reprimand.
Councillors Jerry Pribil, Sam Trosow, Steve Lehman, Paul Van Meerbergen, and Steve Hillier voted against the reprimand, as did Stevenson.
That was contrary to the Integrity Commissioner's advice.
"Councillor Stevenson may participate in the deliberations today, but she may not participate in the vote," Atwood said before voting began. "She may not vote on whether or not there should be a reprimand."
Council could have suspended Stevenson's pay for 90 days, but opted to go with the recommendation from the Integrity Commissioner.
During the debate, Stevenson said that if she was found in violation she would be "left with no choice but to defend herself from these falsehoods in a different forum."
