Coun. Merulla broke Hamilton council’s code of conduct: integrity commissioner

Hamilton's integrity commissioner is docking Coun. Sam Merulla five days of pay after concluding he broke council's code of conduct through a testy exchange with a retailer over weightlifting equipment.

Merulla, meanwhile, rejects the findings and says he'll challenge in court the gross incompetence" of Principles Integrity, the firm that has acted as the city's commissioner since 2018.

In early September, Gina Richardson filed an integrity complaint alleging Merulla threatened her during a phone call over a delay in receiving $397 worth of cast-iron kettlebells he'd purchased via an online order.

The employee of the Kitchener-based company, Great Lakes Girya, also alleged the veteran east-end councillor called her a f--ing punk" and added he would pay me a visit."

Merulla has denied Richardson's account, calling them ridiculous allegations," but acknowledged using foul language and sending emails using his official city account, which includes his councillor signature.

In its Dec. 11 report, Principles Integrity found on a balance of probabilities" that the allegations occurred as reported" by Richardson.

The report also states Merulla identified himself as councillor over the phone, which he denies, to intimidate the complainant in order to obtain a refund where clearly there is a no-refund policy."

Using his position to try to influence the company to his private advantage" was improper" and a breach of council's code of conduct. He received a refund.

Merulla argues his dispute with Richardson and the retailer was a private matter outside the commissioner's purview.

In an email Friday, he also referred to the firm as an incompetent, malicious" contractor with questionable principles."

The Ward 4 councillor said he and his lawyers would pursue a judicial review and all legal channels."

In a letter to the firm, Merulla's lawyer, Douglas Burns, questions the integrity of the probe into his client's conduct.

His client, Burns adds, respectfully submits that a review of the facts in this matter would lead to any fair-minded person dismissing the complaint."

In one of several points of departure, Burns notes Merulla may have used street slang," like the complainant. But he denies calling her a f--ing punk," and indeed told her you are not going to punk me off."

Firm co-principals Jeff Abrams and Janice Atwood-Petkovski, a former solicitor with the city, said in a Zoom call Friday that they stand by their report, which is on the agenda for Wednesday's council meeting.

We did a fair and thorough job and reject the assertions that are made by Coun. Merulla," Abrams said. The firm's reports tend not to be very hyperbolic," Atwood-Petkovski added.

They will defend themselves if Merulla follows through with legal action, the partners said.

Principles Integrity is already a respondent, along with city council, in a legal challenge by Cameron Kroetsch, the chair of Hamilton's LGBTQ advisory committee.

In late October, Kroetsch announced he would seek a judicial review of council's reprimand of him following a commissioner investigation.

On Sept. 30, council formally scolded him for an alleged privacy breach" that involved sharing an advisory committee motion via social media with wording that went against the clerk's advice. Kroetsch has rejected the findings.

The motion in question focused on the committee's stance on the 2019 Pride flag-raising ceremony, a lack of diversity on the police services board and a now-departed city IT staffer with neo-Nazi ties.

On Friday, Merulla declined to comment further on advice of his legal counsel, but did express via text Kroetsch was targeted unjustly. I feel for Cameron. He really was treated unfairly," he wrote. I have lived his angst."

Council's use of the integrity commissioner against an advisory committee member sparked community criticism that the unusual step would stifle civic engagement.

In early September, a Principles Integrity report noted it handled 15 inquiries between July 2018 and the end of August 2020. Of those, 14 were resolved without the need for a formal report."

Richardson, for her part, said docking Merulla five days' pay is a pathetic excuse of punishment for what he said and did."

That won't teach him that he can't treat people this way," she said via email.

Her complaint follows one against Merulla by CHCH News in 2019 over his lashing out at a reporter via Twitter. That was resolved without sanctions and to his satisfaction."

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