A Year-Old Cover-Up: Council's 2024 Decision to Kill Leak Probe Haunts Election

At the October 6 2025 Council Meeting Mayor Linnsie Clark revealed that someone had leaked her e-mail regarding former City Manager Ann Mitchell’s performance evaluation to Mitchell. This resulted in the Shitshow Showdown of August 21 2023 and a subsequent demand letter that quoted the performance evaluation and a threat to sue Mayor Clark for defamation. The relevant information starts at page 660 in the Oct 6 Agenda Packet

2023

August 15 Clark e-mailed Council ONLY regarding her input into the City Manager performance evaluation.

2024 

June 12  Mayor Clark submitted a notice of motion for the June 17, 2024 Council Agenda, to investigate how City Manager Mitchell came into possession of the contents of Performance Appraisal E-mail. Clark says her attempts to have an investigation were unsuccessful.

Clark said that unless someone in Administration misused the electronic messaging system to access this information that it was one or more Council Members who leaked that confidential information.

From the Oct 6 2025 Agenda Packet

This Information Is Very Troubling

1 Council has only one employee; they must be able to have candid, private discussions about that employee. If Council Members can leak information with impunity, then there is no way we can trust our Council Members.

2 We have 5 incumbents including Mayor Clark running for re-election. Any one of them could be the leaker (although it is doubtful that it was Clark). It is likely that even if none of them was the leaker, one or more of them likely voted for no investigation.   

Above photos from Sept 15 2025 Council Meeting - photo credit Kelly Allard

If Elected

I will propose that administration come up with a process so that if a leak does ever happen again, it will be investigated. I am astounded that it was even an option to not do an investigation.

I will propose that all employee evaluations by Council be done in a secure fashion so that emails cannot be leaked again. I am not well versed in this area, perhaps it will mean encrypted communication. 

I will propose that an investigation be done into the previous leak. We need to know if we can trust our Council Members with confidential information.

I will propose that there be penalties for violating an oath of confidentiality. I am assuming that Council Members are required to take such an oath.

I will be propose the following policies similar to what Calgary does to ensure Councillor accountability

• Quarterly Council Expense Reports

• Gifts and Personal Benefits Registry for Council Members

• Council Visitor Log documenting who the Council Member met with in their offices (excluding media or city employees)

• Council Member Disclosure - list of properties, financial holdings and employers of Council Members, their spouse/ interdependent partner and their dependent children within city limits

  
  

If the Agenda Review Committee refuses to put it on the agenda, I will make it by way of a Notice of Motion. I am not expecting other Council Members to go along with this idea but defeated motions can come back to Council. I am nothing if not persistent.