Scott Radley: ‘That was a pure Sam Merulla face’

The three-second video shows Sam Merulla holding up a can of beer, bopping his head to some background music with pursed lips and then breaking into an over-the-top smile.

Strange? Not that he'd film it. People take selfies. But unusual that he'd email it to the media and city staff on Thursday evening? Sure. Can't remember anything like this from a local elected official before.

But the longtime Ward 4 councillor says it was just pure celebration after more than a decade and a half of what he describes as torment at the hands of a police officer who was found guilty of eight counts of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act earlier in the day.

That was a pure Sam Merulla face," he says. I don't know how much more I could be naked to the world."

And that would be that. Except a discussion about the video then turned into an intriguing 25-minute discussion about his legacy - he's announced he won't be seeking re-election - and the past, present and future of local politics.

I challenge you to find someone else who's accomplished as much as I have on council," he says.

There will surely be those who agree. He has, after all, drawn an average of 81 per cent of the vote in the past three municipal elections, so he clearly has support. There will undoubtedly also be those eager to take up that challenge. Either way, Merulla isn't shy about laying out his case.

Here's how he tells it.

When he took his seat at the council table 21 years ago, basements in his ward used to flood, sidewalks were crumbling, there were no cycling lanes, playgrounds were in disrepair, people were trying to move out of the area and those moving in had less disposable income so businesses would close.

And Ottawa Street had 80 per cent vacancy. It was dead," he says. There were more bullets flying in the street at that time than there was actual shoppers."

Since then, he's helped bring that area back, created programs to help the vulnerable, seniors and those with disabilities and driven many other improvements. More recently - and more broadly - the idea to find a private sector partner to redevelop the downtown entertainment district was initially his.

So much has changed for the better, he continues. Yet today so many people are only pointing to all the things that need to be repaired rather than remembering the things that have already been done. There's plenty of criticism flying around, but little positive feedback, even for things done right.

As a result, the 54-year-old says being a councillor - even an incredible councillor" as he describes himself at one point - is not a rewarding job right now. That's not frustrating, he insists, it's sad.

He's not speaking only of himself, he says. The venom that's now directed toward politicians has affected many of the long-term councillors. Nobody thanks them anymore, they just insult them. And with social media, the volume of this negative stuff has grown exponentially. To the point people holding office can feel unsafe.

Of course, being one of the most outspoken members around the table throughout his tenure, who's found controversy now and then, has made him a lightning rod. He doesn't dispute that.

Still, there's no longer any grey area, just extremes of black and white, he continues. Because of that, he's not optimistic about the future of democracy. Where are the qualified people who are going to want to run for public office if they have to go through what he has, he asks.

In his case, add the situation with Const. Paul Manning that's led to questions from people at work and at church and elsewhere and he says he's been seriously impacted.

The veteran politician says this term of office for him was about continuing to do his job even as he was clearing his family's name after tweets from Manning suggested he might be tied to organized crime - Merulla has never been charged with anything relating to Project Scopa - and what he calls years of harassment. That and holding the officer accountable.

The idea that he was tied to the Mob? Ludicrous, he insists.

If you're going to call the cops on a cop, you'd better be clean," he says. Because they're going to start digging. And they did."

He is approaching the end, though. At the beginning of 2020, he announced he wouldn't be running for re-election. That remains the plan.

I'm done," he says. I'm independently wealthy. I'm an incredible businessperson ... I have a full pension. I've completed my political career. I will be involved somehow, some way, but I'm not going to be running again."

It's impossible to guess if that video would've been made public if he was seeking office one more time. Maybe. Maybe not. But the man in those three seconds looks like someone who suddenly has a weight off his back.

Is that a fair interpretation?

Oh, I'm at peace," he says. Yes, I'm at peace."

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com