2010 grade: C
2009 grade: C-
2008 grade: D
2007 grade: D
In past years, I understood mayor Peter Kelly to be the likable bumbling fool. That version of Kelly was OK with me: the mayoralty is a mostly powerless position, so having a goofball in the office might be frustrating when you want somebody to at least pretend to be doing something, but neither was he causing any real harm, I thought. Kelly got a C last year.
It turns out that Kelly wasn’t as clueless as he let on. We now know that he was up to his elbows in the concert loan scandal, arranging and attending meetings between now-disgraced former acting CAO Wayne Anstey and failed concert promoter Harold MacKay. In the process, millions of dollars in secret and illegal loans were funnelled to MacKay through a city bank account for the Metro Centre managed by Trade Centre Limited. MacKay failed to pay back the last loan, and the city is left holding the bag for $360,000.
Anstey says Kelly was completely aware of the loans, but Kelly disputes this, saying, sure, he was at the meetings, but he left before the loans were discussed. He then does the verbal equivalent of papering over the issue, mumbling nonsensical dissembling statements, apparently hoping we’ll all tire of it.
But no. There are only two possibilities: Either, as Anstey says, Kelly was completely aware of the loans and kept that knowledge from councillors and financial managers who could take corrective action, or Kelly is so simpleminded that he missed millions of dollars being passed right under his nose. Either way, he is part of the biggest financial scandal to hit city hall in HRM’s existence, and he must be held accountable. This F is well-deserved.
How to improve: Man up, take responsibility for your actions, resign.
This article appears in May 12-18, 2011.
agreed, resign!
Just. Go. Away.
T.O.A.S.T.
http://www.metronews.ca/halifax/local/arti…
no further comment necessary!
leave already
You forgot to mention him being oblivious (I guess) to the CAO having the authority to OK millions in tenders without going to council. English signed off on the Washmill tender while PK and friends were on their much needed vacation (from their part time job? Never been clarified.).
What about the ridiculous search for a new CAO? No one around here can move a dollar from this column to that column, and voila no more deficit? A report (consultant?) indicated that the job pay range is 250 – 300 k/annum in a province that the cost of living is low and what do they do? Top of the range. The US federal reserve chairman makes 195k by comparison. There seems to be too much stuff going on under his watch.
He is like mould……
Peter Kelly is a low life p####, not only did he swindle tax payers money, he swindled Mary Thibeaults estate right into his own personal bank account, leaving her heirs hanging. He avoided all requests from probate court while he was writing cheques drawn on Mary Thibeaults personal account not only to himself but to his son Craig Kelly for his education costs. Craig Kelly was not an heir in the will.??????? I’d say Peter Kelly has some explaining to do. Why wasn’t there an estate account set up????????? Peter Kelly we don’t want scum of the earth running our city…..padding your pocket with our tax dollars and stealing from the elderly…how many more wills did you manage to get your name on,huh,????????????????????????