Kelowna city councillors are being urged by the mayor to avoid speaking to the media ahead of meetings.
In a letter sent to council recently, Tom Dyas stated, “As per our code of conduct, the mayor is the spokesperson for the city.”
The letter also says, “If speaking to the media, councillors must state it’s their personal opinion, and should avoid talking with the media before the motion is brought to council.”
The mayor’s letter was sent after Coun. Ron Cannan issued a notice of motion to create a ‘Buy Canadian’ policy last month.
Cannan was scheduled to do an interview about the procurement with Global News but he cancelled last minute saying the mayor directed him to “stand down from engaging with the media.”
Ironically, the mayor himself was unavailable for an interview about his directive to councillors.
Instead he issued a statement, saying, “Councillors are elected in their own right and are free to share their own opinions with the media.”
Dyas added, “I simply asked that when items requiring a council vote are being brought forward, they be debated at the council table first.”
“As soon as we start to hear language like encouraging elected representatives not to answer questions from media, it rings an alarm bell,” said Stewart Prest, UBC political science lecturer.
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Prest said attempts to control the message are more common occurrences at higher levels of government.
“To see it at the level of city council takes it a step further,” Prest said. “We generally think of municipal councils as being the kind of grassroots layer of democracy where people are able to be much closer to decision-makers.”
Sharon Shepherd was Kelowna’s mayor between 2005 and 2011.
She told Global News she never instructed councillors not to speak to media.
“I don’t know if that would have been tolerated at the time but things are different obviously and circumstances are different,” Shepherd said.
Coun. Loyal Woolldridge said he doesn’t feel like the mayor is trying to silence him and his counterparts.
“I do not feel like I am in any kind of a gag order no,’ Wooldridge said.
However, he did add that speaking to the media ahead of any decision making can be challenging because councillors have to keep an open mind before receiving information and then voting on it.
“For me, when we are asked to speak to the media, I want to make sure it is done in an informed way, which is generally why I don’t speak before a decision of council is reached,” Wooldridge said.
Rick Webber, a former media member himself said, with or without the directive, he feels free to speak out.
“The mayor isn’t the boss of city council and he knows that,” Webber said. “He’s hoping for a unified voice but there’s nothing stopping city councillors from expressing their opinion if they so choose.”
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