Thread by @brodie_thomas

A special meeting of council is set to begin on Coun. @seanchucalgary. Here's a background story written yesterday by @BillKaufmannjrn. #yyc #yyccc calgaryherald.com/news/local-new…

All of council is present. Only Coun. @gccarra has dialled in. Chu is here in the chambers. He is opposed to the agenda. #yyc #yyccc

Gondek is going over the accusations, reading from a CBC news article that broke the story. "Chu says he was found guilty of misconduct for touching the girl's leg under a table in a public place." #yyc #yyccc

Gondek says Chu is set to be Deputy Mayor in December. #yyccc

Gondek: "I now find myself in a situation where I will be unable to chair in the December 6 meeting of Council and Councillor Chu would have to start the day with a recognition of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women." #yyccc

The mayor and councillors are going in camera briefly. Gondek says she wants to give councillors the courtesy of hearing something in private first, before she makes it public. #yyccc

There's two items on today's agenda. In addition to revisiting the deputy mayor roster, there's a second item: "Calgary Police Commission's "Review of 1997 Police Misconduct Investigation" (Verbal)."

You can read that review here: calgarypolicecommission.ca/complaints/pol… #yyccc #yyc

Council is back. Mayor Gondek said Chu has taken photos of her licence plate.
#yyccc #yyc

'He has further compromised my personal safety in this past year. Given that he took photos of my vehicle license plate in a secured area, photos that later surface from a member of the public." #yyc #yyccc

Mayor Gondek says she was requesting a reconsideration vote on Chu's deputy mayor responsibilities. However Chu says he will step away voluntarily. #yyc #yyccc

Coun. @kourtpenner is now speaking. She says these are dangerous times, and what she's hearing today astonishes and disappoints her. #yyc #yyccc

@seanchucalgary is apologizing for his actions. He's no longer allowed to park in executive parking. He's also spoken to the ethics commissioner. He had a "course" dealing in this specific issue. #yyc #yyccc

@seanchucalgary @JyotiGondek did not accept his apology. She says she did not make a complaint to the integrity commissioner. "So if a complaint was made to the Integrity Commissioner, I would assume that it was made by someone who wanted to protect corporate assets and it was not me." #yyccc

The first motion has passed unanimously. #yyc #yyccc

Mayor Gondek is now going over the review of the 1997 police misconduct investigation. That link again: calgarypolicecommission.ca/complaints/pol… #yyc #yyccc

Gondek is asking to send report to the Premier's office "to be delegated to the most appropriate parties." #yyc #yyccc

They will ask if any further action should be taken, and to explain the process of determining what action, if any, should be taken. #yyc #yyccc

Coun. @SonyaSharpYYC is asking if Coun. @gccarra's integrity commissioner report can also be sent in along these lines. This would be in regards to his undeclared property in Inglewood. #yyc #yyccc

Procedurally, this could be tricky because this is a special meeting. #yyccc

This may come later. Stay tuned. It looks like they need to deal with the Chu item first. #yyccc #yyc

@CWalcottYYC says there are some significant shifts following the CPC review. Walcott says we now know the initial complaint investigation was never really completed. It was treated as an internal investigation instead of a formal complaint. #yyc #yyccc

Walcott is describing a catch-22 where the disciplinary system failed because processes weren't followed. He wants to see the provincial government weigh in based on this new information. #yyc #yyccc

Chu is quoting the review. "It does not appear that errors impacted the outcome of that case." Chu says he was duly elected. "Calgarians expect us to work together." #yyc #yyccc

Chu says this is a deflection from the real issues, such as tax increases and council's 35% approval rating. #yyc #yyccc

@chabot4calgary says rules are clear on being eligible to serve. One has to be convicted of a crime to be ineligible. Chabot says he does support sending this to the province. #yyc #yyccc

@JyotiGondek says she asked provincial ministers one year ago. This time they are going to the Premier to delegate it. It could go to Justice or Solicitor General. #yyc #yyccc

@CWalcottYYC closes by reading this section of the CPC report. #yyc #yyccc

Council voted unanimously to approve the second item. #yyc #yyccc

Council now needs a 2/3rds majority to add the Carra matter to this meeting. #yyc #yyccc

This was the previous defeated motion. #yyc #yyccc

@gccarra is recusing himself from this. He isn't sure if he has a pecuniary interest but he wants to play it safe. He is asking Sharp to withdraw a previous statement, which she did. #yyc #yyccc

City solicitor says this is "incredibly complicated." She is recommending bringing it forward at a later date to ensure it is done correctly. #yyc #yyccc

Carra says he has been advised to recuse himself. The solicitor says without the full council, they can't proceed at this time. #yyc #yyccc

Sharp points out Carra must legally declare what his pecuniary interest is. The solicitor agrees. It appears Carra has already left the chat. #yyc #yyccc

Carra is back. He is being advised by the city solicitor. #yyc #yyccc

Carra says his pecuniary interest is the potential legal costs he may have to pay out of pocket. (He's not saying anything about his property being a pecuniary interest.) #yyccc #yyc

Recess to work these details out. Hang tight. #yyc #yyccc

Council is back. Carra is getting a written note from the the ethics advisor. Basically saying there is no pecuniary conflict of interest now. He will not recuse himself. #yyc #yyccc

The motion has carried 10-5 to bring this item back. Now they have to discuss wording. #yyc #yyccc

Actually, this vote was to get the matter on the agenda. Now they need a reconsideration. #yyc #yyccc

Now @kourtpenner is speaking.
"I said I would be happy to support bringing it back at another time, but when you bring it back on a day like today it is deeply insulting to those of us who are victims. And I just can't let it stand so I can't support this." #yyccc #yyc

@JenniferWyness is responding to Penner. She says this was supposed to be about being consistent when it comes to councillor conduct. She apologizes to Penner. #yyc #yyccc

@CWalcottYYC says the problem is people are trying to compare an alleged sexual assault with a financial matter. He says they are not the same thing. #yyc #yyccc

@SonyaSharpYYC says she feels for her colleague. She wants to focus on transparency. Now voting. #yyc #yyccc

The vote requires a 2/3rd majority. The vote is lost 9-6. #yyc #yyccc

Here's the breakdown. #yyc #yyccc

So a summary of what we learned at the meeting:
- Chu took photos of the mayor's licence plate and Gondek learned of this photo earlier this year.
- She learned about it when contacted by a member of the public who had the photos. #yyccc

- The mayor did not go to the integrity commissioner with this info, but someone did.
- Sean Chu received what he called a "course" from the Integrity and Ethics Office on why he shouldn't have taken the photo.
- The mayor said she simply wants Chu to resign. #yyccc

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