Kevin Davis, Mayor for the City of Brantford, announced his decision to rescind his resignation from Council on Thursday, July 25, 2024.
Davis, who was expected to tender his resignation at the end of July, discussed the new development on social media.
“After much consideration, and consultation with my family and City staff, I have decided not to resign at the end of this month and will serve out the balance of my term as Mayor. Simply put, I have reconsidered, based on what I believe to be in the best interests of the City of Brantford, City staff and the residents we are honoured to serve. This decision wasn’t easy, and involved discussions with many people, including taxpayers, business-owners, City staff and of course, my family,” said Davis.
Davis continued, “While my intent was to submit a formal resignation notice at the end of July, I now know that my personal career decision would come at a great financial cost for the taxpayers of Brantford. A cost that can easily be avoided. Last week staff advised me that recent changes in the practice and procedure for conducting municipal elections will make a by-election much longer and more expensive, costing upwards of $600,000. Furthermore, the by-election would not take place until the end of January 2025, which is a date much later than any of us had anticipated. I frankly cannot, in good conscience, give priority to my own career goals when it will come at the expense of hard-working Brantford taxpayers.”
Davis went on to address the experiences he has had since announcing his intent to resign.
“The last two weeks have been nothing short of enlightening. Particularly the reaction of some council members to my announcement, that there are several vital initiatives and projects that would be negatively affected and delayed by my premature departure, including the Sports and Entertainment Centre, the affordable housing strategy, campaigning the Province for a new hospital and timely approval of the City’s 2025 budget. Each of these critical priorities sit squarely in front of us and are far too important for me to leave now,” explained Davis. “Over the last several weeks I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about the priorities I had set for myself and the City of Brantford as Mayor, including strengthening our partnership with the County of Brant so we can focus more effectively on the shared challenges our communities face, such as creating a truly regional road system and a new hospital, and working closely with Six Nations elected council to improve and strengthen the relationship with the Six Nations of the Grand River. I now realize these initiatives could fall off-track in the months waiting for a by-election. While the position with the License Appeals Tribunal would allow me to focus on my own personal goals, it would jeopardize the goals that had been set by Council for the next two years. I am committed to ensuring these projects succeed and am re-committing myself to these priorities; therefore I have declined with regret the Tribunal position I was offered by the Province.”
Davis concluded his statement by addressing comments he made during an appearance on CHCH Morning Live.
While it is unfortunate that I, like many politicians in Canada, are being subjected to obscene and inappropriate harassment, it is the staff at The City of Brantford who have endured a greater burden of dealing with this issue,” he explained. “As a target of much of the harassment, I’d hoped my leaving would lower the temperature and reduce the aggressive toxicity directed toward City staff, however, it has escalated, significantly, since announcing my intention to resign. Not only do I have a professional obligation to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with this outstanding team, I have a moral obligation as well. These are my co-workers. My friends. The people I see when I go to work every day. I can’t in good conscience leave this position while City staff are still on the firing line. The behavior staff are being subjected to, on a daily basis, is completely unacceptable and should never be tolerated. While I strongly advocate for freedom of speech and protection of our democratic freedoms….stalking, slandering, and bullying people, especially City employees who just want to come to work in peace and to serve the people of this community, is exactly the wrong way we should be treating one another. I would challenge each of you to consider how you would handle such harassment were it directed at you when you go to work. It’s not right, and it must stop. Now.”
As always, Brantford, I appreciate the outpouring of support I have received from community members, organizations, and businesses. My heart and soul are unequivocally with The City of Brantford, and I look forward to seeing what we will accomplish together over the next two years,” concluded Davis.
