Courtenay council calls for 'immediate resignation' of fellow councillor

Courtenay Coun. David Frisch was placed on a mandatory leave of absence from his council duties in January 2023. (City of Courtenay)

A Vancouver Island city council is calling for the immediate resignation of one of its elected members.

Courtenay Coun. David Frisch was charged with assault against an intimate partner on Jan. 7 and was placed on a mandatory leave of absence from his council duties.

During a hearing on Feb. 23, Frisch entered a peace bond, or supervised recognizance, which a judge can invoke if someone fears they will be harmed or their property will be damaged, even if the accused is not found guilty of a crime.

In an open letter published on April 3, Frisch apologized to his family, friends and the wider community. In it, he said the court set aside the assault charge because "it did not reflect the situation."

City council voted on April 28 to censure Frisch and demand his resignation "as a strong declaration that his conduct" is unbecoming of a council member, the city said in a statement Monday.

"Council finds any behaviour which results in reasonable grounds to fear that a person will cause personal injury to another to be unacceptable, whether the person is a member of council or otherwise," the city said.

Fellow councillors also sanctioned Frisch by voting to remove him from all committees, boards, conferences, public events and the rotation for the acting mayor's chair.

"Earlier this year, I had the very challenging experience of being involved in legal action stemming from a dispute between my wife and I," Frisch wrote in the letter.

"I’ve spent the last couple of months addressing the issues in my personal life. I am delighted that my wife and I are now working on strengthening our marriage and our relationship with community and friends."

Frisch acknowledged he has made mistakes but said he has learned valuable lessons about the importance of family and service to the community.

"I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to rebuild your trust," he added.

"I understand these are trying times and I look forward to engaging with you on some of the more pressing issues like homelessness, downtown community building, housing, and climate change."

Frisch was elected to a third term on the seven-member council in October.

He did not provide a comment when contacted by CTV News on Tuesday morning.