Comments fuel political backlash

By RICHARD ROLKE Morning Star StaffJan 10 2007 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/
Vernon’s mayor is in the midst of his first controversy. Current and former politicians are upset with comments attributed to Wayne Lippert about the previous council, while his claim that he was taken out of context by The Morning Star is also raising concerns.

In a Dec. 31 article, Lippert spoke about the challenges of being in office for a year. “The previous council left a black mark on the city. Our incumbents (councillors) got the message because there were only three left. People wanted change,” he stated. Those comments have angered members of the former administration, including some who sit on council with Lippert. “It was like maligning all former councillors,” said Coun. Barry Beardsell.

In a letter to members of the old council, Lippert tries to explain the situation. “As you are well aware, having served on council yourself, comments are often misrepresented through the media and I confirm that this is the case in this instance,” he states in the letter. “I’m sorry you feel offended by these comments. It was not my intention to single out former city councillors as responsible for the city’s unfortunate situation of last year.”

When asked by The Morning Star Monday if he had been misquoted or taken out of context, Lippert said, “I don’t remember my comments (during the interview).” In fact, Lippert went on to make comments similar to those in the Dec. 31 article. “The general gist is Vernon had a black spot,” he said. “The point I wanted to make is we’ve had difficulties and the three (councillors) back were aware of it.”

The Morning Star stands behind the content of the article it published Dec. 31. “The mayor never took issue with the article upon publication and only began to question it when it subsequently became controversial,” said Glenn Mitchell, managing editor. “We stand behind the quotes and article 100 per cent.”

Derek Hall, a former councillor who unsuccessfully ran for mayor against Lippert, wrote a letter to Lippert expressing his concern about the published statements. “I was just a little bit disappointed,” said Hall. “There’s been two or three things of pointing fingers. Get on with it, you were elected to do a job.” Jim MacGillivray, who retired from council in 2005, also has concerns but he’s willing to give Lippert the benefit of the doubt. “Sometimes you make comments to the media and you don’t think of the implications. I don’t want to make a huge thing of it. It (blaming past councils) happens all the time,” he said.

Coun. Pat Cochrane believes Lippert should have been more careful with his wording. “It was the wrong choice of words. When he referred to council, it should have been the mayor (at the time),” said Cochrane. While Sean Harvey had resigned in disgrace as mayor and major changes in administration occurred, Cochrane says the former council was firmly in control. “By the election, everything was fine. City hall was functioning well and it was probably better than it had been for years,” he said.