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No confidence motion … Mayor asked to ‘shut up’ at COI …accepted unsolicited legal advice from Town Clerk
Mayor Patricia Chase Greene at the COI yesterday
Mayor of Georgetown, Patricia Chase- Green faced the heat over the manner in which she dealt with the no-confidence motion brought against Town Clerk Royston King, as she appeared before the Commission of Inquiry into City Hall, yesterday.
And during the heated exchange that followed she was asked to “shut up.”
Earlier this year, the Mayor disallowed a no-confidence motion brought against Town Clerk, Royston King, by Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillor, Sherod Duncan. She adopted unsolicited legal advice provided by King’s lawyer, Maxwell Edwards, to influence her decision.
After presenting the Commission with a detailed account of what transpired on the day the no-confidence motion was brought against the Town Clerk, Chase-Greene who was accompanied by lawyers, Lyndon Amsterdam, and Latoya Roberts, faced a series of questions about the motion.
The Mayor had circulated the advice from Edwards, who is also the husband of a city councillor, Noelle Chow-Chee.
Among other things, Edwards advised that the motion is amended to remove the ‘no confidence’ clause. Duncan subsequently advised the Council that he will not change ‘a line’ or ‘a full stop’ in the motion.
Edwards concluded that the motion in its original form is ultra vires; hence, is not a business required to be transacted at a meeting. He pointed out that the Mayor, presiding at a statutory meeting, has a duty to prevent any business that is ultra vires the Municipal and District Councils Act (Chapter 28:01) from being transacted at such a meeting.
According to Edwards’ advice, a vote of no confidence in King is in substance and intent, a disciplinary measure or action. The attorney stated that a Town Clerk cannot be disciplined by the City Council, only by the Local Government Commission (LGC), which became operational on October 23, 2017.
However, Chairman for the Commission, retired Justice Cecil Kennard, was adamant that the Mayor should not have allowed the Town Clerk to seek and use legal opinion he had obtained from his personal Attorney, Maxwell Edwards, to stop the debate on a no-confidence motion.
The Chairman insisted that the Town Clerk ought not to have played any part in a matter involving allegations against him.
“The Town Clerk should recuse himself from that…any participation or be seen at the meeting,” said Kennard.
“These are serious accusations against the Town Clerk … He is the suspect so to speak, and you are going to act on this advice?”
Justice Kennard noted, too, that King’s lawyer had sent a letter to Duncan threatening legal action.
“You should have sought independent legal advice of another lawyer— council’s lawyer,” Justice Kennard stated.
However, the Mayor insisted that she could not independently on her own seek legal advice from any lawyer without the Council.
“The Council has its lawyers and the Town Clerk is responsible for that,” she added.
In his representation of the City Mayor, Attorney Amsterdam added that he could not find anything in the Municipal and District Council’s Act 28:01 concerning the procedures the Mayor should follow when there is a no-confidence motion against the Town Clerk.
“This is not a matter of law but a matter of commonsense,” replied Justice Kennard.
The lawyer and judge engaged in a heated debate over the issue at hand. Amsterdam noted that the issue is whether the Mayor dealt with the no-confidence motion.
“And I am saying that she did,” said Amsterdam
However Kennard noted that issue is rather whether the motion was dealt with “properly”. The Judge insisted that “Councillors would have voted on the basis of wrong legal advice, improper legal advice.”
Amsterdam noted, though, that the Mayor could not overturn a collective decision of the Council.
“Let us go to the law to show why the advice wasn’t proper. We should not deal with the messenger. We should deal with the message. What is the advice tendered to the Town Clerk and what the Act says that makes that advice improper?” asked Amsterdam.
At one point of the hearing, the Mayor was upbraided by the Chairman who asked her to “shut up” and leave her attitude for City Hall.
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