'Absolutely he's been bullying': 2 Langford city councillors voice frustration with mayor

The City of Langford incorporated in 1992. Since then, it has transformed itself from a “have-not community” into the third-fastest-growing municipality in Canada. Now, with a divided city council, that growth could stall.

That’s what Mayor Stew Young – the only mayor the city has ever had – said at a Feb. 7 council meeting.

“We’re going to disagree on council with each other and we’ll move on,” said Young.

But moving on is not what is currently happening on a now-fractured Langford City Council.

On one side are councillors Lillian Szpak and Denise Blackwell, who say the mayor’s recent behaviour is out of line.

“It’s unacceptable and inappropriate,” said Spzak.

“Absolutely he’s been bullying, and especially lately,” said Blackwell.

On the other side are Young and the rest of council.

“No, I’m not a bully,” said Young. “I’m going to stand up for council and I’m going to stand up for the community.”

“I stand behind the mayor 100 per cent,” said councillor Roger Wade.

Young has been the mayor of Langford for 30 years. In that time, he and the council have transformed the municipality into a thriving community.

Spzak says years of accolades have gone to Young’s head.

“So therefore, he believes that he is a demigod and that this is his town,” said Spzak.

Spzak says when building up a city from scratch, it’s easy for a council to be united. That is, when every vote is for building a more prosperous community.

Now that the city has matured, grown and diversified, she says, the community has concerns about the fast rate of growth. She says the mayor is not allowing those concerns to be heard at the council table.

“It’s not up to him to be in a command and control (position), it’s up to him to facilitate,” said Spzak.

The mayor says the next big thing for Langford is the densification of the city’s downtown core. He says Blackwell and Spzak are beginning to slow that process down.

“We now have two councillors that are dividing the rest of council,” said Young.

Both Blackwell and Spzak say they are not against densification, they just want to allow for more public consultation on major projects.

“Not everything we do is what everyone wants to see us do, and they have a right to tell us that,” said Blackwell.

“We need a code of conduct,” said Spzak.

In a recent council meeting, Spzak called for the City of Langford to establish a code of conduct, which it currently doesn’t have. That motion was voted down.

The province is currently working through Bill 26, which will establish guidelines for a code of conduct that will apply to all municipalities in the province.

The mayor wants to wait to see what will be in that document.

“Hopefully, they come up with a pamphlet that says, ‘This is your code of conduct for all of B.C.,’” said Young. “That’s what should happen and we’ll see what they bring forward.”

Oct. 15 of the this year will be the next municipal election. Young says he plans to announce whether he’s running again in late August.