Mayoral candidate accused of creating ‘anger and hate’ for political gain in Mississauga

A Mississauga councillor is accusing a colleague and mayoral byelection candidate of “using her position of privilege to instill anger and hate” in some residents for political gain. And incidents of bullying and death threats are believed to be part of the fallout.

In a scathing statement read aloud at Wednesday’s meeting of general committee, which was open to the public, Ward 3 Coun. Chris Fonseca further charged that Ward 7 Coun. Dipika Damerla’s actions also lack integrity and stoop to being a violation of the City of Mississauga’s code of conduct.

That document, which governs the behaviour of members of council, was signed by all Mississauga councillors at the beginning of the latest term in fall 2022. The city’s integrity commissioner investigates any alleged violations.

Essentially, Fonseca accuses Damerla of going too far in her byelection campaigning by loudly speaking out against a decision already made by city council on a contentious community project.

Damerla’s aggressive opposition to a major reimagining of the Bloor Street area in east Mississauga — Fonseca’s ward — that includes eliminating two lanes of vehicle traffic and replacing them with bicycle lanes violates the city’s code of conduct, according to Fonseca.

The Ward 3 councillor read from part of the code (section 15) that states once a decision has been made by council, all members must get behind it. Councillors are not to “actively undermine the implementation of council’s decisions,” Fonseca said.

“The role of elected officials once a council decision is made,” Fonseca continued, “is to support the implementation of that decision and not to work against its implementation publicly or behind the scenes.”

Ward 3 Coun. Chris Fonseca speaks at Wednesday’s meeting of general committee at City Hall.

Damerla, one of three sitting councillors vying to become Mississauga’s next mayor (Ward 1 Coun. Stephen Dasko and Ward 2’s Alvin Tedjo are also running), argued she’s been opposed to council’s Bloor Street decision from the beginning and that she owes it to residents who’ll be voting to divulge her full platform and vision for the city.

In her remarks, Fonseca noted Damerla had a choice to make when she registered in the mayoral byelection, that of “resigning her current seat (on council) or to continue to sit in the privileged position of both serving as the Ward 7 councillor and running for mayor.

“Her decision to sign a petition against a decision made by all of us last June … is in direct conflict with the very code of conduct that all of us … signed when we were sworn in, in the fall of 2022.”

Fonseca added what she considers “most alarming” is the egregious “form of bullying” that’s shown itself on matters related to the contentious Bloor Street project.

Ward 7 Coun. Dipika Damerla states her case during Wednesday’s meeting of general committee.

She expressed disappointment in “a sitting public official that chairs (the city’s governance committee) who is using her position of privilege to instill anger and hate, not only towards her fellow councillors and city staff, but what is most concerning of all — pitting resident against resident, misleading residents and silencing or cutting off the voice of residents that we were all elected to serve.

“At the end of the day,” Fonseca noted, “what we all do around this table is try to best serve everyone in our community. If we don’t have integrity, what do we have.”

As plans for the Bloor Street area have moved forward, some residents opposed to it have taken to bullying tactics — targeting other residents in addition to Fonseca and reportedly city staff as well — and in some cases, death threats have been lobbed the Ward 3 councillor’s way, general committee heard today.

“I have big shoulders”

In her response to Fonseca, Damerla said today she, too, has been the target of bullying over the matter.

“If residents are bullying Coun. Fonseca, that’s wrong. It shouldn’t happen. We should be able to have differences of opinion on very difficult issues without threatening people’s personal safety,” Damerla said. “And I can tell you I’m getting my share of bullying. I have big shoulders. Leadership means being able to take the shots that come at you and I can tell you I’m getting a lot. It’s unfortunate … that we cannot take different positions on an issue without it getting personal to the level where it starts to affect our mental health, our physical health.

“If any councillor is facing any kind of backlash, threats, bullying because of any policy issue, that is wrong and I’m going to ask Mississaugans, I’m going to appeal to your better side,” she continued. “We do not have to stoop this low. We do not have to physically or online threaten any councillor or any resident just because we have a different point of view.

“I’m getting my share of hate on this, make no mistake about it, but I just accept it. I mean, it’s not fair that I have to accept it, but that’s the way these things are.

“When you take leadership positions on difficult issues, it gets emotional, sometimes people attack you and I have the shoulders to take it.”

“I have very big shoulders as well”

Damerla didn’t back down on her assertion she should be allowed — and owes it to voters — to voice opposition to anything as she presents her vision for the city.

“I have the courage of (my) convictions: there’s an election, I’m running for mayor and I do not agree with this project, and it would be wrong leadership for me to not have the courage of (my) convictions.

“I think it’s leadership when you think that your city is going in the wrong direction, to raise it. At no point have I personalized this, at no point have I named any councillor. I was blindsided by the prepared text that was read out by Coun. Fonseca, so I will need time to process some of the things she has said.”

Fonseca seemed to believe her council colleague missed the point.

“The bullying and the threats towards myself and my family, that’s actually the least of my worries. I have very big shoulders as well. I think I’ve proved that since first being elected in 2010,” she said, adding she debated raising the matter at the council table, but decided to do so because “we all signed on to a council code of conduct.”

Fonseca said the Ward 7 councillor has every right as a mayoral candidate “to make your position on the Bloor redesign (and other things) in your platform known to everybody.

“What I’m getting at is the choice you made to be in a privileged position to sit as a current member of this council to represent Ward 7 while at the same time running for mayor … and, therefore, in doing that, you undermined good governance.”