Trail Mayor Lisa Pasin violated council’s code of conduct when she told councillor Robert Cacchioni “Grow up,” “Be a man,” and “Oh Robert, I forgot you saved the world,” according to an external investigator’s report.
A copy of the 37-page report by Paula Butler of Southern Butler Price, submitted to the city in December, was provided to Vista Radio on Tuesday following a freedom of information request.
Although some passages were redacted, the vast majority of the document is laid bare, giving a detailed glimpse into city council’s infighting last year stemming from a prior code of conduct violation by councillor Robert Cacchioni against now-former city manager David Perehudoff.
The same report concluded councillor Sandy Santori breached the code when he said to Cacchioni “Quit being such an asshole”; “You’re a real prick”; and “Robert, do you want to take it outside now?”
However, it also found that many other complaints of bullying and harassment lodged against Santori and Pasin by Cacchioni and fellow councillors Carol Dobie, Colleen Jones, and Eleanor Gattafoni Robinson were unsubstantiated.
Although the city previously announced that Pasin and Santori were found to have breached the code of conduct, the details have not been made public until now.
Pasin’s comments to Cacchioni came at a June 17, 2021 closed meeting of council called to reach an agreement on a media release about Perehudoff leaving the city and the investigation that found Cacchioni breached the code of conduct in comments toward him.
While the exact words spoken at that meeting were disputed, the investigator found that while Pasin was frustrated with Cacchioni not taking responsibility for his role in Perehudoff’s departure and was “passionate,” she did not enter into a “tirade” at any point, as alleged by some councillors.
Butler found that Pasin did say “Grow up” to Cacchioni and either “Be a man” or “man up” and also replied “Oh Robert, I forgot you saved the world” in a “glib” tone when Cacchioni said he did a great job as the city’s regional district director.
Butler said these constituted “minor breaches” of the code of conduct.
She also found Pasin said that if the complainants didn’t agree with publishing Cacchioni’s name in the news release, they were as culpable as he was and that by stressing Cacchioni’s “workload, dedication, and financial savings” to the city, they were trying to “whitewash” his code of conduct violation.
Pasin further accused Dobie, Gattafoni Robinson, Jones, and Cacchioni of colluding at a committee meeting in the fall of 2020 to vote on an appointment to the safety task force.
That was the same meeting where Santori made his comments to Cacchioni after a heated over disagreement over who should be appointed. Butler said Santori showed a lack of respect for Cacchioni and that suggesting they settle their disagreement with a fight was “very inappropriate.”
Butler also found at three meetings in June 2021, Santori repeatedly called on Cacchioni to resign and also “smirked, shook his head, laughed, spoke and waved his hands” while Cacchioni was talking. Butler said taken together, the actions showed a lack of dignity and respect toward Cacchioni and would not promote public confidence.
However, Butler found many other allegations did not stand up to scrutiny after interviewing all of those involved.
She concluded that while everyone had an honestly-held belief in the evidence they provided, the relationships among them were so strained that there was “a risk of misperception by all parties involved” and in the case of the complainants, “a tendency to exaggerate every negative interaction with the respondents. Once the complainants believed they were being bullied and harassed … they saw everything through this lens, and this impacted the reliability of their evidence.”
For instance, she said the complainants alleged Pasin bullied and harassed them at two meetings in June 2021, but an unnamed witness whom Butler deemed “particularly reliable” called that a “gross mischaracterization.”
Butler also dismissed a suggestion from councillor Colleen Jones that the mayor discriminated against the women on council, and another from Cacchioni that Pasin made rude comments and facial expressions whenever he spoke at committee or council meetings.
“This council is very fractured and I am concerned that this report will result in more disrespectful and disruptive behaviour,” Butler wrote. “I hope that the parties involved will move forward from this investigation and rebuild relationships so that they are able to work together productively.”
Pasin and Santori have both apologized for their comments and actions.
The investigation cost $49,500.
Among other revelations in the report:
• On June 28, 2021, Pasin asked council to reconsider Cacchioni’s appointment to the regional district board after receiving an email from then-chair Diane Langman, which alleged inappropriate behavior by Cacchioni at the RDKB table.
According to Pasin, it addressed “bullying and intimidation of the board” and “confrontational behaviour.” However, Cacchioni said a subsequent investigation found the claims unfounded. He continued to represent Trail at the RDKB until this month, when Colleen Jones replaced him.
• According to the report, Cacchioni made an audio recording of the June 28, 2021 meeting without the permission or knowledge of those in attendance. Santori has complained to the RCMP and Office of the Privacy Commissioner about a video recording of the same meeting.
• Does familiarity breed contempt? In addition to serving on council together, Pasin and Cacchioni are second cousins while Santori and Cacchioni have known each other since Santori was very young, as they lived on the same street.