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Integrity Commissioner says Redick clear to vote on Optimist issues

September 25, 2023

Brooke-Alvinston Councillor Jenny Redick wants to set the record straight.

Redick obtained an opinion from the municipality’s Integrity Commissioner that she is no longer in conflict when business including a local service club comes up at council.

Redick and Deputy Mayor Frank Nemcek were the subjects of an investigation by the Integrity Commissioner earlier this year. The pair, both Optimist members at the time, voted on a contract between the municipality and the club for pavilion use.

While they didn’t make any money from the contract, the Integrity Commissioner said being a member of the club might lead people to believe they did.

Just before the report came to council, Redick resigned her membership from the club.

But when another vote about an Optimist plan to renovate the arena came to council in the summer, Mayor Dave Ferguson questioned whether Redick should vote. So she didn’t.

Redick recently consulted the Integrity Commissioner who said she’s clear to vote on Optimist business now. “My integrity is intact,” she told council Sept. 14.

And she told the mayor to use “cautionary words” after hearing from a resident he had suggested the nearly $17,000 bill submitted by the Integrity Commissioner already on the issue was “well worth the money.” Redick says the mayor allegedly said she was out of control. “I’m not influenced by anyone… I was elected for a reason and I’m going to continue on.”

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