Stephen Carter has scored himself another sweet severance package..Despite being removed from his position as Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s chief of staff, Carter has been paid out more than $104,000 in a severance package, CTV confirmed through an access to information request..That’s $1,000 a day for his work which was heavily criticized by councillors in his less than 100-day reign..Several Calgary city councillors filed complaints about Carter before he was fired, the Western Standard has learned..The councillors told the Western Standard that the complaints vary in their seriousness, and several are still under investigation..Gondek has said Carter wasn’t eligible for severance..“This is a matter that I’m not discussing,” Gondek told CTV News.”.“I’ve been advised to remain quiet about this. This is a personnel matter that I am not speaking to.”.“I find it interesting that we continue to pick on tiny little things that don’t matter in the grand scheme of getting our city back on track.”.Carter was forced out of the job only 100 days after taking the position..“My severance, in my opinion, was granted for two reasons: to ensure I was not vocal about the unjust nature of my dismissal and to avoid embarrassing litigation,” Carter wrote to CTV..“If dispersions about me and my character continue, I may be pushed towards action in the courts,” he said..Carter masterminded Gondek’s campaign and saw her come from well back in early election polls to an eventual easy victory over rival Jeromy Farkas..“I am no longer with the Mayor’s office. I love campaigns, campaigning and making a difference. I expect to do more of the same. I loved working with @JyotiGondek and expect she will achieve great things,” Carter tweeted at the time..Carter told CBC leaving the position wasn’t his idea and he has no clue as to why he was dismissed..Carter in February also threatened to sue the Western Standard when it published a story about a former Calgary city councillor filing an official complaint with Alberta’s Chief Electoral Officer alleging Gondek used third-party funds to pay for a city-wide brochure mail-drop..Almost immediately after publishing, Carter threatened Western Standard News Editor Dave Naylor with a lawsuit. He tweeted:.“That was quick: Ok. You will be getting a letter from our lawyer shortly. Straight to Jono? Does he defend you as well?”.We told Carter that any further correspondence should be directed to our lawyers. .He then took to Twitter to brag about his impending lawsuit to shut the Western Standard up. .Carter never followed through on his threats..Carter was once famously referred to as “Chief of Stiff” by the Calgary Sun after he become embroiled in a scandal where he didn’t pay his bills..The Sun reported a company owned by Carter, Carter McRae Events, “owes more than $600,000, most of it to the University of Calgary, and hasn’t coughed up a cent in court-ordered judgments.”.He resigned from Redford’s staff and received $130,000 in severance for his six months work.. Anger greets ‘Chief of Stiff’s’ $104,000 packageStephen Carter (photo credit: Calgary Sun) .“If that’s the full amount, that’s still pretty eye-popping,” said Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith at the time..“A six-figure severance for six months worth of work? An employee who voluntarily leaves should not get severance at all. This certainly doesn’t happen in the private sector.”.Carter, who had been Redford’s strategist in the 2011 Tory leadership race, became her chief of staff when she took office in October of that year..He was also the mastermind behind Nenshi’s unexpected election victory 11 years ago.
