‘Crap like that’: Hamilton councillor complains about abusive developers

A Hamilton councillor says the city must shield staff better from abuse dished out by belligerent developers.

I'm speaking about a select few who literally walk in like they own the place," Coun. Brenda Johnson told The Spectator.

A virtual meeting she held with a developer and planning staff over a proposal became so abusive," she pulled the plug, Johnson recalled.

But it didn't end there. After that, the developer, whom she wouldn't name to protect the staffer, called her up.

I was basically told that if we can't be friends, then he's going to speak to his lawyer."

The Glanbrook councillor remembers thinking: This is me as an elected official. This tells me how you are with the rest of staff. So the lower down the ladder you are, the more crap you're taking."

Johnson says she doesn't get intimidated but worries staff might not feel the same and end up weathering abuse.

But when she complained to senior staff about the online meeting that went off the rails, all I got was crickets."

Such cases are taken seriously, said Jason Thorne, the city's general manager of the city's planning and economic development.

In a few cases, senior staff have stepped in" to remind developers or their agents about the city's code of conduct, he said.

More often than not, those kinds of situations are resolved pretty quickly with a conversation, and it doesn't go any further than that."

If it does, other remedies, such as limiting access to city hall and certain staff, are options, Thorne noted.

Johnson recalled other examples, including how a developer wrote off a staffer's direction because he was soon to retire. Or when she, as ward councillor, was told to just be quiet" after making a suggestion for a proposal.

It's crap like that."

Other councillors said they didn't doubt Johnson's concerns but noted they hadn't directly experienced builders crossing lines.

In the development industry, some can be pretty passionate" to move files along, Coun. Jason Farr said. But I haven't read that passion to be anything more than they're anxious."

Coun. John-Paul Danko noted his experience as an engineer in the construction industry has shown him sometimes things can escalate" when big money is on the line.

Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com