I attended the May 19 council meeting via YouTube and was shocked and disappointed by Councillor Watkins' comments made during the public hearing. To quote him: "Oh god, I'm going to f---ing vomit."
I am calling for Councillor Watkins' immediate resignation from St. Albert city council.
His language was inappropriate at any time for a councillor, and especially inappropriate interrupting mid-presentation a member of the public during a formal public hearing. If his comments were "about something else," as he claimed during the meeting, that would indicate he was not paying attention to the presentation during the public hearing which is also very inappropriate and disrespectful to the public. This is even worse in that Councillor Watkins is chair of the Community Growth and Infrastructure Standing Committee which the public hearing was germane to.
Either scenario, the comments and language used, or not listing to the public during a public hearing should not be acceptable by city council, and I request city council enact Councillor Watkins' immediate resignation to show the voters of St. Albert that this behavior is not condoned.
I am concerned Councillor Watkins' comments may have shown pre-bias and invalidated the public hearing and subsequent vote.
As the comments were made in public, I would also request a public apology prior to his resignation.
I believe Councillor Watkins' comments are not in keeping with the code of conduct and warrant an investigation by the St. Albert integrity commissioner.
Respectfully,
Mike Killick
St. Albert
