Barb Shaugnessy is not a member of Get Concerned Stratford, but many people seem to think she is. We apologize to her if being associated with our organization has caused her any problems at City Hall.

Barb made a citizen deputation in February against turning the Bradshaw Lofts into Air BnBs, and became one of the people who were banned from all City buildings three months ago. She was accused of being aggressive in the kitchenette during the break in the proceedings on February 26. Barb responded to the City that she didn’t know there was a kitchenette, and that in any case she had not been aggressive. The allegation has changed, and she is now accused of being aggressive in the hall outside City chambers.

The change of location is important: there’s a security camera there. Barb has been trying for weeks to get the recording from the security camera to prove that she did nothing wrong during the break. She has been unsuccessful; not only will the City not release the recordings to her, they won’t even release them to their own City Appeals Investigator.

Barb is a stubborn woman: she doesn’t give up easily, in spite of many recent health problems. She felt it was her last resort to appear before Council to ask for the release of materials that will prove that she had NO contact with staff during the break.

We recorded some of what went on at the meeting: we ask you to weigh in on what happened, and what should have happened. Let’s consider some of the alternatives–could there have been a less confrontational way of dealing with this? Could they have taken a 10-minute recess and discussed the problem with Barb? Could they have levied a fine for the disturbance, perhaps, and then proceeded with business? Could they have even just taken a few minutes to listen to a person who believes she has been unjustly excluded from civic participation for three months? There are a lot of possibilities. Comments are below.