Yellowknife City Councillor Niels Konge feels his feud with Mayor Mark Heyck won’t be a distraction.
‘The Letter’
Today, Konge issued a statement to the press. He mentions the previously made complaints between himself and Heyck. He says these issues will not be a distraction for City Council.
“For the past 2 years this Council has worked very hard and cohesively to get things done,” says Konge. “I know my colleagues and myself will not let this get in the way of Council business.”
In the letter, Konge lays out that himself and Heyck have had issues dating back three years. He references these as the reason for there being no cause for concern.
“Three years back I questioned the Mayor’s leadership abilities and I can see now that he took that very personally… Even though we don’t see eye to eye on all issues, it has not stood in the way of Council’s work in the past and will not in the future.”
‘Waste of time?’
The Yellowknife City Councillor then adds that comments over the Rules of Conduct complaints being ‘a waste of time’ are untrue. He views them as “a check on abuses of position and power.”
Konge writes, “The process is designed so that no single member of Council can pursue a personal vendetta against another member of Council without the rest of Council and the public knowing about it. If this type of abuse were to happen more often then you would truly see a Council crisis.”
‘Inspections’
He then acknowledges concerns over his relationship with building inspections.
“I’m far from the only contractor to have been completely frustrated in dealings with the department. Contractors don’t have any way to appeal a building inspectors decision.”
He writes that he’s been pushing for a review for the Planning and Development Department to look at having any way to appeal a building inspectors decision, “even when the decision is clearly wrong.”
‘Bullying’
His final comment calls to question Mayor Heycks choice of words over their disagreements.
“As a parent it really bugs me when people casually throw around the word ‘bullying’ to describe a disagreement between two adults. If the Mayor… calls me a bully for finally saying enough is enough, then he’s going to have a hard time explaining bullying to a kid who is actually experiencing it.”
The Conduct Review Committee will be in charge of making a decision.
