Q&A: Why re-elected Sarnia mayor Mike Bradley wants to 'break down the wall' with council

From accusations of bullying and harassment, to a landslide victory in the 2018 municipal election, the current term for SarniaMayor Mike Bradleyhas gone anything but smoothly.

Bradley's ninth term as mayor was marred in controversy over allegations of bullying, harassment and intimidation of city staff in2016 and again, in 2017.

Council even voted to suspend his pay for two weeks after a suggestion was made to do so by Sarnia's integrity commissioner.

So how will Bradley work with an incoming council largely occupied by newcomers?

The Sarnia mayorspoke toAfternoon Drivehost Chris delaTorreabout being elected for a 10th term.

You had mentioned during your victory speech you were going to "tear down the wall" between council and residents. What did you mean?

Actually, there's a literal wall that was put by council that was not re-elected that distanced myself from the public and staff and it just didn't serve any purpose.

The former ombudsman used to use Sarniaas an example of open government ... The public always knew if my car was in my parking spot, they could come up and talk to me. I don't have voicemail. I respond to every voicemail personally. I respond to every email personally. I respond to every phone call personally.

We've lost thatand the last three or four years under the current regime at city hall, it's been barrier after barrier.

Let me give you an example which I'll be bringing a change to the new council which I hope they'll adopt. We've never rejected people from speaking to council in the past. This past council gave that power to the clerk to deny people the right to speak if they didn't think it was a municipal issue. The fact is every issue is a municipal issue and everybodyshould have a right to come to their fellow citizens who are councillors and speak to them.

We're not above people. Just because you're the mayor or you're [on] council, we need to listen to everyone. I sat through some many presentations which I could've skipped in my memory because it was painful, but they still got the right to speak and that's the type of thing I want to restore to Sarnia city hall.

How will this win change your relationship with city staff?

The issues that I've had have just been with top person over the last four years. And yes, I've made mistakes. Lessons were learned. Going forward, I want to meet with the new council. I want to discuss where we're going on the administrative side.

The last council rubber-stamped every decision. I was the only person as mayor, along with Coun. Boushy who was overwhelmingly re-elected, asking questions. That's our job. It's not to be disagreeable, but our job as elected people is to be the watchdogs at city hall, not the lapdogs.

What are your thoughts on the incoming council?

Every council is my best council. You start off with optimism. With this last council that all defeated or didn't run, in the first year, it was good. We worked together. I wrote resolutions for some of them to bring to council, and then it went sour for different reasons.

The new council isgoing to have to stay on the right track. They're going to have to be different from the last council. They're going to have be progressive. They're going to have to be sensitive to the public's wishes and that's a tremendous pressure to put on them.

The public wanted change ... I'm a 30-year mayor who ran on a platform of change about city hall. I can't think of any other place in the country that's ever happened.

What's one example where you disagreed with council's approach?

The city regime, with council's blessing, took away the front reception desk where there was a wonderful person that came in and directed phone calls and did all that.

Yes, it'll cost some money to put it back in, but it's the type of citizen service that city hall should be giving not the walls and barriers that we've seen not just in Sarnia, but across Ontario, where city halls now are often seen as the enemy, not the ally of citizens in dealing with their problems locally.

This interview has beenedited for length and clarity.

Hear more from SarniaMayor Mike Bradley on the CBC'sAfternoon Drive: