Halifax mayor Peter Kelly announced Wednesday that he will not seek re-election in the October election.
““I feel that, after 27 years of public service, I have made my contribution to the good of the community to the very best of my ability and it is time to seek new horizons,” wrote Kelly in a press release.
Kelly’s statement comes six days after The Coast’s expose of Kelly’s questionable involvement in the estate of Mary Thibeault, a Halifax woman who died in Florida in 2004. (See “A Trust Betrayed,” February 16.)
Our article detailed how Kelly is named executor of Thibeault’s estate, which is valued at over a half million dollars; that seven years after her death, the charities named as heirs in Thibeault’s will have not received any of the money they’re due; it questioned the accuracy of documents Kelly submitted to the probate court; and, illustrated with copies of cheques written to Kelly and his son, it explained how there is a dispute over $145,000 removed from Thibeault’s personal bank account after she had died.
After our article appeared, Kelly eschewed public appearances and other local media outlets began following the story; Wednesday morning, the Globe & Mail picked up the story nationally and the Chronicle-Herald wrote a scathing editorial calling on Kelly to explain himself. That afternoon, Kelly released his statement.
“Mayor Kelly acknowledged that there had been stumbles along the way, not least being the issue of his duties as executor to the estate of his late friend, Mary Thibeault,” reads the press release.
“I am not making any excuses,” said Kelly in the release. “Whatever problems have arisen have been because of my own tardiness and I am in the process of fulfilling her instructions. Everything is accounted for and will be distributed according to her wishes.”
In the press release, Kelly says that he intends to serve out the remainder of his term.
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This article appears in Feb 23-29, 2012.
Does this mean that with Mayor Kelly going away, Tim Bousquet may actually have to resort to real journalism? The easiest job in the world must be that of someone who only has to sit back and criticize without actually having to show they can do any better.
maybe Tim should run for mayor. Tim did something most other “journalists” can’t be bothered to do. he did some work and exposed Kelly as a thief and a liar and actually held him accountable for his actions. to me, thats something the media and “journalists” need to do more often rather than just going for the low hanging fruit for sheep like yourself. If you’d rather keep knowing about what pills Ms Houston took and what jail Ms Lohan is currently in, please continue to stick with TMZ.
@lonelydwightfrye – /Tim Bousquet may actually have to resort to real journalism?/
Definition of ‘real journalism’ please?
@justmy02 – /maybe Tim should run for mayor./
No, he is doing a valuable service as a journalist. Nor does his great work in journalism automatically make him a great politician…any more than a great hockey player is automatically a great coach.
I don’t care what motivates Tim Bousquet to do the great work that he does. I simply want the truth ferreted out and told about significant issues that affect the greater public good. He is doing this in my opinion and I thank him for it.
Maybe Peter Kelly can spend 90 hours a week diving into Tim’s private life, I’m sure there’s nothing he wouldn’t mind them pasting onto the front page of the Coast saying “Trust Betrayed” with ol Timmy’s mug above it. I’m not saying he’s not good at what he does but it was an an attack, and I have yet to hear his response to Kelly’s stepping down. I feel as though he should speak up. C’mon Tim, this is all you you’ve got to say? You really needed to create a post here to advise us that he won’t try to get re-elected, no shit, thanks for the news flash. I want to hear your response to your involvement. Not that I don’t respect what you do and not that I’m defending Kelly, I just think you need to follow up, I’m actually quite interested to hear what you think…but I’m sure you won’t leave us hangin…
If you folks at the Coast can drop the self-rightgeous high-fives over mayor Kelly’s announcement, it might just sink into your pinheads that we are about to lose a decent, hard working mayor who sought the way of compromise and had a far-sighted view of this area. Your nit-picking and innuendo only serve to to boost your egos. You have done nothing useful for Halifax. Are you perfect? Have you not made mistakes? Shame on you. You are a deplorable rag.
Brian Hoyle
What are you? The indie CNN?
Yes, quite the feather in the cap of The Coast. I think that even under the promise of anonymity I would ever say anything to a reporter of The Coast (based on this and their failure to protect a sources identity in the past). Good job!
The Coast/ Tim Bousquet deserves a medal on the fine exposing of journalism on the Kelly affair. It has brought the bumbling idiot down from his throne, thanks to Tim and Only Tim. We need more in Nova Scotia like him. I’m sure main stream media would be afraid to hire such an competent journalist.
Tim Bousquet (and The Coast) deserve the thanks of the citizens of HRM and probably a major journalism award.
Other media outlets in the city generally make a practice of giving only cursory attention to these issues or ignoring these stories altogether until the groundswell of public interest forces them to devote time and resources to them.
As citizens and taxpayers of the HRM we are well-served by the journalistic talents and energy that Tim brings to his vocation.
Keep up the good work Tim.
It’s one thing to perform investigative journalism, it’s another to do it in a completely biased fashion. I mean, a mug shot on the cover? That’s typical CNN fear mongering. Now you write another article celebrating yourself.
PK did the best he could for this city within the context of democracy and a nitwit council. Give him credit for what he sacrificed; he lost a lot in trying to make this a better place. TB is a typical journalist. If there isn’t an interesting story, give me a minute and I will invent one. I am sure the next mayor is already in the cross-hairs.
Why is Kelly not in jail, or at least being charged? Is it because he knows the beneficiaries of Mary Thibeault stand to lose more than they can gain by obtaining legal council? Why has there been no public outcry for his removal NOW instead of allowing him to go at his leisure? After the executor issue, the concert fiasco, the new stadium issue, the new trade center, the road to nowhere underpass in Bayer’s Lake why are the people of Halifax not furious? Why has he not explained the 10-million dollars in overtime paid to transit drivers over the past four years, for example: the workers forced to work overtime in order to fulfill his promise of “FREE” rides on New Years Eve, the extra buses required to accommodate concert goers, the extra buses required to accommodate the Canada Games, just to name a few?
If I did a thousands good deeds but got caught speeding would the ticket be cancelled based on my good deeds?
This newspaper is weird. They pose as being alternative to “the man”, and yet, there’s nothing alternative about them. They’re like those 90’s bands that came out after Nirvana.
@leftee /If there isn’t an interesting story, give me a minute and I will invent one./
What exactly was invented in the executor story?
The Mayor, from my limited view, was a tireless worker. He was at fire department BBQs and the like on weekend mornings all across HRM.
As a manager, I have no idea how effective he was. As a person, he seemed like a ‘good sort’ with good intentions for our great city.
As a leader he did not seem that good, particularly on leading the council to be an effective and efficient body. However, on the critical attribute of trust, with which effective leadership (or any relationship) flows from, he has fallen short too many times.
This makes the executor issue particularly fatal to his leadership. The important role of executor of an estate is fundamentally predicated on trust, a trust in which he has failed in an ongoing fashion (regardless of the legality of any of his actions).
Whether you loved the mayor, have no opinion, or hated him, let the facts (current or those yet to come) and an open-mind, be your basis for judging whether or not Peter Kelly, or any other person, should be a leader in our society.
Again, thanks for Tim Bousquet for serving up some previously unknown and relevant facts.
what is this b.s.? some of you seem to confuse the role of journalism with public relations. the press are supposed to verify whatever a politician says. they might be lying. we never know until someone checks it out. if a person doesn’t want to work in an environment of that much scrutiny, they should stay out of the public sector. nobody forced peter kelly to run for mayor. he asked for the job. his critics don’t have to be able to prove they can do better. they aren’t asking for the job.
here’s what made peter kelly a crummy mayor since some of you can’t seem to get past the idea that he’s a good ol’ nova scotian boy:
1) he gave his buddy $300K of taxpayer money for free to cover losses of his private business, and the same investigation revealed he’d been doing it for years in violation of city policy. the only punishment handed out for this unethical practise has been for one guy to take his retirement 3 months earlier than planned. if the plan had been successful, no one would have even known these guys were using the municipal bank account like their personal slush fund. kelly’s response: i didn’t know. not my fault. no further comment. vote me out if you don’t like it.
2) anytime he doesn’t want the scrutiny that comes with operating a gov’t with transparency, the meetings simply go in camera. what could go wrong when no one knows what our govt is doing? kelly’s response: contracts (or insert your own convenient excuse here) require discretion. not my fault. no further comment. vote me out if you don’t like it.
3) he could not have handled the occupy group more duplicitously than he did. to make some taxpayers happy you don’t lie right into the faces of some other ones. furthermore, you don’t ask cops to spend their moment of silence on remembrance day suiting up in riot gear to confront peaceful protestors. kelly’s response: i didn’t know about their deal with vets or how the cops would handle it. not my fault. no further comment. vote me out if you don’t like it.
i could go on but i won’t.
he’s only quitting just months before he would get fired anyway.
and despite it all, he’ll likely still be collecting a cheque from the city for the rest of his life.
i don’t know why the messenger seems to bother you folks. he’s not the one laughing right in the faces of the citizens of this city, and doing it all the way to the bank. peter kelly is.
robhfx… Man are you living in a cave ? “great city !
Halifax ?!?
Are you kidding me ?
We have a transit system that when working IT SUCKS.
It is manager ultra top heavy , according to the city, theres 44 managers/supervisors for 750 employees that’s 1 manager for every 17.045 workers ! That’s According to the HRM , I immediately thought, Are you fucking kidding me ! ! ! !
So I look at the Unions notes for employees & management.THE NUMBERS ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT they say they have 782 members ( you would think the Union & the bosses would have the same idea of how many employees they have) & there are 130 manager/supervisor admin staff, & they list them all …so the total is of ONE ADMIN/MANAGER staff member for every 6.1 worker ! ! !
AS AN EXAMPLE
In my Union we have 423 members, 1 director,1 Office manager, 2 Supervisers & 3 admin. 1 manager/admin person for every 60.42 workers ! ! ! !
Can you not see immediately we have ten times as many people actually working compared to managing the workers ! ! ! ! !
Talk about a MASSIVE waste of money ! Theres soon going to be more chief’s than indians at Metro Transit !!!
Just like the rest of the HRM. Our Councils too big, our city staff is top heavy. Then there’s our constant outside hiring of Consultants…why do we have a city staff if we are constantly going outside for professional services ???!???
Our mayor has broken our city charter multiple times has given away tax payer funds to his friends & not 1 charge brought forward, let you or I or anyone else pocket 300 grand of the HRM’s funds & see how long we get to stay on the streets.
Taxes on the penninsula of Halifax are a detriment to business. the red tape faced by developers & business people are unbelievable. Its gotten so bad that employers are leaving & I don’t blame them. We have given up our penninsular offices, not that we couldn’t afford it, we simply found a nicer spot with twice the space & plenty of parking (wow parking) at 1/4 the tax rate & much cheaper to purchase! So when ever I see tax money being squandered it burns me & there is no recourse. The 3 levels of Governemnt are just like the 3 monkeys, See no evil, hear no evil ,speak no evil & trying to deal with them means nothing gets done easily, you get a constant run around & no one is prepared to sit down with the others & fix the problems.
Much easier to say the Province does that, the city is responsible, the Fed’s are the problem…we only prorate it…its all bullshit & I for one am sick & tired of it. Its way past time for the dead wood to be held accountable, Kelly’s gone, good. Ex MLA’s are being convicted for fraud etc…double good, we need more of it, MUCH MUCH MORE OF IT.
@More – I really just meant that Halifax is a great city to live in, likely despite the amateur and secretive leadership. Your criticisms of all levels of government are well-taken.
Regardless of one’s political leanings ALL citizens should agree that the very foundation of how we govern ourselves needs “a reboot”, with timely transparency and open information being main features.
downtownleroybrowm – SECRET MEETINGS. Tell me 4 secret council meetings that should have been open to the public. Take your time….look up the minutes on the HRM website and then tell me and others the dates of the 4 meetings and the subject that was discussed in secret. And tell us when councillors complained about the secret meetings. $10 reward will be left at the office of The Coast after you provide the answer. The Occupy meeting doesn’t count.
Peter Kelly is a vampire. Don’t believe me? His house in Bedford was grey with black shutters last time I was there. And don’t get me started on his late night excursions where he flew to the Chicken Burger…
Fuck The Coast. I’m not a supporter of Kelly necessarily, but there’s plenty of worse people out there to intentionally ruin. You’re a bunch of flippant hippie wannabes.
Why is Kelly not in jail, or at least being charged? Is it because he knows the beneficiaries of Mary Thibeault stand to lose more than they can gain….I wrote this POEM years ago because “I Do not trust many of our CORRUPT/GREEDY Seasoned Canadian politicians” – Michael
OCT. 1997
A must read for all the politicians and bureaucrats who have, and
still are, disrupting the lives of so many trusting individuals.
THE POLITICAL IDIOTS
Who I am and what I stand for,
This honestly does not matter.
The things I say, the promises I make,
This honestly does not matter.
The lies I speak, the hope I give,
This honestly does not matter.
The people who listen, the people I represent,
This honestly does not matter.
Young and old, wealthy or poor,
This honestly does not matter.
The air you breathe, the water you drink,
This honestly does not matter.
The religion I am, the color of my skin,
This honestly does not matter.
The decisions I make, the decisions I break,
This honestly does not matter.
The money I’ll make, the pension I’ll take,
Now this is what I’m after.
I’m out for myself, my wealth, my health.
The most important matter of all.
God bless the historians.
For they know the Political Idiots.
I honestly hope my poem does not offend
anyone. If I was a “P.I.”, it would be hard
to find a better country to practice this given talent.
Michael Ishoj
Thornhill, Ontario CANADA
Fall 1997
Well walterkronkite, let’s see if you’re singing the same song for Kelly if he gets charged for fraud!!!!!!! The ONLY sensible thing you said, you turd, is when you told Tim ‘good job buddy’. From me to you Tim Bousquet – FABULOUS JOB!!!!!!!!
Fuck Tim Bousquet. He is not a journalist, he is a slanderous douchebag. If Tim was a real journalist he would get a real job. What kind of guy writes an article citing his original article as a source. Grow up Tim. You are too old to be hanging out with the Coast crowd.
After pushing submit on this post I am deleting my bookmark, boycotting their advertisers and will never touch another Coast ever.
Tim should totally revisit this case http://www.thecoast.ca/halifax/saving-brin… ! I bet whoever it is that hates Brindi so bad has more than a few skeletons in their closet that Tim and Co. can rattle around!
@joeblow:
any other random games where you get to make the rules that you’d like me to play?
if there was only one meeting in secret that didn’t need to be, that’s enough.
and occupy counts to me. maybe not to you.
occupiers are taxpaying citizens too. they deserved as much consideration from the mayor as those who complained about them, maybe even more.
To all the TB supporters on this thread: you should look at real journalism once and a while. Three real journalists lost their lives in the past 10 days doing the real dirty work. TB doesn’t even breath the same air. Bottomfeeder with a thesaurus.
@robHFX, when you say “fact” do you always check to make sure it indeed is one? Thought not.
downtownleroybrown – there is a lot of chatter out there about secret meetings. Certain candidates are using the issue to make it appear they are open minded and will change how business is done at city hall. if you believe there are too many secret meetings surely you have the ability to list a few and explain why the subject under discussion should have been open to the public. If I offer a prize then surely I make the rules.
Let me make it simple for the lazy people.
The council discusses sales of HRM real estate during an ‘in camera’ meeting and after they make a decision they then ratify the decision in the public session and release details of the issue. Do you think such business should be discussed in public ?
Council goes ‘in camera’ to discuss labour negotiations. Do you think such discussions should be discussed in public ?
Council goes ‘in camera’ to receive legal advice such as possible insurance settlements, human rights complaints and other legal issues. Do you think such issues should be discussed in public ?
@ Joe blow…if they are planning on spending 1 cent of taxpayers money. Yeah I do believe they don’t have the right to do it behind closed doors.
THey are being sued, I DEFANITLY don’t believe they should be allowed to hide behind closed doors. We should know why there is a lawsuit.
Who fucked up.
What was done & HOW fucking much we have to pay to fix it &
WHo is getting repremanded/fired so they can’t fuck up like that again.
So as long as they are spending Public Money
THey should have no choice but to do it IN PUBLIC!
IF they want to use their own money, then please tell us that, they (mayor & council & city staff) can or are going to pay for it & then they can make all those decissions in private, cause they’re paying & I got no problem with that
There is a definite place for in-camera meetings. For example, real estate. Sleazy land owner hears whispers that the city needs land for something? Oops, the asking price just went up an extra $mil. Yes Council is spending public dollars, but sometimes doing it prematurely in public means they’re spending a lot more public dollars than they need to. I definitely disagree (with More, for example) that all meetings should be public. That being said, my general feeling with the current mayor and council is that in-camera was used too often as a way to shirk responsibility.
more – What a genius you are. We couldn’t afford to do business your way. When you hire a lawyer do you ask him/her to tell the other side your strategy ? Just because they are being sued doesn’t mean they are wrong. Jono is threatening to sue them over the school sale. It is an empty threat. Do you think the resignation of Dan English and the reason for not extending his contract should have been discussed in public ?
hipp5 – Your first scenario rarely happens. A ‘general feeling’ doesn’t cut it when debating the ‘in camera’ issue or ‘private meetings’ issue. You have to come up with clear examples. Your feeling is probably manufactured by the constant reference to ‘in camera’ since the meeting prior to the removal of the Occupy crowd. You cannot find any article or broadcast where a journo delved into the issue and cited dates and subjects. Search the minutes and see what you can find. Here is a typical example : The council met ‘in camera’ to discuss the sale of a piece of land in Bayers Lake. Any developer can make an offer at any time for HRM land in Burnside or Bayers Lake. The council will privately meet with staff to discuss what will be built and when. The buyer may not want competitors to know about the potential purchase. After the discussion the council may approve the sale and then goes back into a public session and releases the fact of the sale and the price, the purchaser may not be named.
Though I don’t always agree with Tim’s writing, in this case the only person who did in Kelly was Kelly himself with poor decisions, non-decisions and negligence with the will. That will should have been probated within 18 months or less, easily, with nobody contesting it.
If Peter Kelly was too just too busy as mayor to be the executor of Mary Thebault’s estate, then I might be able to forgive him for not getting around to it; however, his failure in this case appears to have gone beyond mere sloth. If he had the time to make sure that he got some money — perhaps more than he was entitled — then he had the time to make sure the other heirs got their share. None of the claims in Tim Bousquet’s story have been refuted, including the very damning assertion that Kelly had the temerity to suggest to other heirs that he would set things straight only if they agreed to keep quiet about the whole affair.
I recognize the good things that Kelly did for Bedford and for Halifax, but this latest term of his has been a bit of a gong show. I’m not sure that Kelly would have decided to bow out of politics — a wise and overdue decision — were it not for Bousquet’s article.
Joe blow, the Dan English issue most certainly shouldn’t have been done behind closed doors !
Look at what happened, they got rid of him, at about 200 grand a year , & brought in Butts for almost double that…& what has he done , except allow the number of Metro Transit managerial positions to explode, manager rates across HRM to go up significantly & of course he’s given us a bus strike.
Doesn’t sound like value for the tax payer dollar there sir.
Perhaps if they had tried getting rid of one guy & bringing in mr twice the cost, the public by knowing about it ,could have lost their minds freaked out at the councillors & that out cry may have changed their minds.
As for sleezy people raising the costs…Government even in Canada have something like the Takings Law/eminent domain where property can be taken for use by our Government
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/rpt/2005-R-0321…
We don’t even have a payment clauser in our Constitution, but it is under statute 1a Under the Canadian Bill of rights…
I have never been a Kelly fan, and would have considered leaving Halifax if he was re-elected. That being said, I think TB (and other journalists) could have focused on things like.. the cash for concerts, the Remembrance Day fiasco, the stalled commuter rail and fast ferry projects, the secret meetings (which, I agree, are necessary in some cases, but also seem to be the go-to solution these days). I think enough people are tired of his actual political leadership (or lack thereof) that it would not have been hard to un-seat him simply by reporting on how he’s done his job.
I feel like TB has unnecessarily crossed the line of decency by delving so aggressively into the handling of the will. Let’s be honest, Peter Kelly was presented as an outright thief or fraudster and there is little evidence that this is actually the case. If it’s legitimately taken this long to settle the will, that really sucks, but I’ve never settled a will and have no idea how long the process can take, or what it involves. Using this delicate personal matter to assassinate Peter Kelly’s character is, in my opinion, a strong step in the wrong direction for the Coast. Focus on the political career, or at least make sure you know for sure that he’s stealing from the deceased before strongly implying that he is.