After months of scrutiny, Pointe-Claire Mayor Tim Thomas says he feels relieved after the outcome of an ethics investigation confirms what he’s been saying all along.
“It was being made out that I was spending irresponsibly, doing this and doing that,” said Thomas. “And now everybody knows that’s not true. In fact, I spent less than my predecessors. With the car and the credit card, I used it less and spent less than all the mayors before me,” he claims.
Thomas faced allegations of misusing city resources, including a city credit card and vehicle.
A ruling this week cleared him of three allegations that involved gas and meal expenses, but found two breaches tied to his use of the city car.
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The breaches involved driving between his home and city hall, plus four trips to visit his mother at a hospital in Ste-Agathe.
His lawyer, Rafael Ferraro, says upon taking office, Thomas had been informed and instructed on how to use the car by the former city manager, Robert Weemaes.
“He [Weemaes] said that personal usage of the car was authorized if it was less than 10 per cent and Mr. Weemaes had obtained a legal opinion from a specialized law firm in municipal law, Bélanger Sauvé,” said Ferraro.
Regardless, the commission found Thomas in breach of Pointe-Claire’s ethics code.
Thomas says he respects but disagrees with the ruling and will appeal the decision.
On the streets of Pointe-Claire, residents had mixed reactions to the ruling and to the mayor’s bid for a second term.
“I don’t have very much trust in him, absolutely zero confidence,” said Pointe-Claire resident Quentin Tully. “I wasn’t going to vote for him anyways but this has confirmed that choice.”
Meanwhile, some others say they always believed Thomas was innocent.
“The smear campaign was not successful, said resident Christine Clarke. “You can’t accuse anyone specifically or collectively as a group, but it appears there was something going on.”
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