Mayor’s resignation would make no difference: Businessman:
Posted Mar 18, 2011 10:50:19 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A prominent Halifax businessman says the mayor’s role at City Hall is strictly ceremonial and Peter Kelly’s resignation would have no effect amid the concert cash scandal.
Callers to Maritime Morning with Jordi Morgon had harsh words to say about Halifax’s figurehead.
“As a taxpayer, I’ve had it with this guy,” Jim told News 95.7 when he called the talk show Friday. “Personally, I’d like to see a revolution down there and just take him by the collar and throw him out.”
“I believe Peter Kelly lacks a certain leadership that a city of this size needs,” Bruce told our talk show.
President of Arcadia Entertainment and local businessman, John Wesley Chisholm, says callers are confused about what the mayor’s role is at City Hall.
“The mayor’s job in Halifax is a ceremony position,” said Chisholm on the show. “He’s a ribbon cutter and a float rider and he chairs that meeting. If you ask him to step down that’s all he’s stepping down from. We have a CAO form of municipal government.”
Chisholm puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of Trade Centre Limited and Halifax’s former Acting Chief Administrative Officer Wayne Anstey.
Anstey bumped up his offer of resignation to be effective Thursday after two-hour-long secret council meeting.
Earlier in the week, Anstey admitted making unauthorized money transfers to the now-defunct concert promotion company Power Promotional Events, under Harold MacKay.
It’s not the first time an HRM CAO has allocated taxpayer money without council’s approval. Former CAO Dan English authorized work on the Washmille Lake Underpass that resulted in $8 million in overruns.
