Former Councillor Bill Kilpatrick wants to put an end to the rumours that have been swirling around him.
In March, the town hired an Integrity Commissioner to work on a report on the harassment allegations filed against Kilpatrick. He says, though, that he’s been told nothing throughout the process. He says he’s been trying to see the report but hasn’t been allowed to. “I think I deserve that and I think the constituents that helped pay for that report and elected me deserve to see that report,” he says.
Mayor Paul Jenkins said he and Council know as much as someone on the street does about the report. “We really have no more insight than anyone else,” Jenkins says. Kilpatrick says all he knows about the town solicitor’s report is that it’s been completed.
Kilpatrick said that Solicitor had told him that he didn’t need to interview him for the report. He added that the Solicitor only got the side of the people that filed allegations against him. Jenkins wouldn’t comment on why the Solicitor didn’t interview Kilpatrick for his side of the story. Jenkins added that Kilpatrick hasn’t been able to find out more information because of the privacy act. There are a lot of things that they can’t tell people. Jenkins went on to say that the Solicitor’s report was done independently from the town.
Kilpatrick says it’s been a frustrating process. The initial allegations against him were made public, nothing has been said since then. “I use the term witch hunt and I don’t think I use the term lightly,” Kilpatrick says. Jenkins said Council has been wondering why the Integrity Commissioner has taken so long as well. “We would have all liked to see (the report released) sooner,” Jenkins said.
