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Marsh the voice of reason on council

Council has now docked a portion of her pay for the next year
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It’s such a sad day for North Cowichan when Kate Marsh, the gentlest person on council, is bullied by our mayor and his three henchmen, Councillors Sawrie, Toporowski and Manhas. It seems she dared to call him out on apparently dismissive comments he made regarding an email from the Cowichan Tribes chief and others.

She is being punished because she shared in an internal email to the closed group of councillors that his comments made her ‘feel embarrassed and ashamed.’ In this day of attempting reconciliation, that seems to be a legitimate comment. However, Mayor Siebring felt she was disrespectful toward himself and initiated action against Councillor Marsh.

This from a mayor who so disrespected his own constituents that he allowed a public hearing to proceed while dump trucks and heavy construction vehicles continuously circled the council chamber with horns blaring.

Councillor Marsh has often been the voice of reason on this council. I applaud her courage to continue in the face of such poor treatment and I hope she will draw strength from the community support she enjoys, both wide and deep.

As a consequence of Councillor Marsh’s expression of her feelings, Councillors Sawrie, Manhas and Toporowski have now docked a portion of her pay for the next year. This consequence is unjust and disproportionate to her so-called ‘offense.’ In October’s municipal election, I will vote to remove 100 per cent of council pay from Councillors Sawrie, Manhas and Toporowski.

Cynthia Montgomery,

Maple Bay



Don Bodger

About the Author: Don Bodger

I've been a part of the newspaper industry since 1980 when I began on a part-time basis covering sports for the Ladysmith-Chemainus Chronicle.
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