A war of words has erupted between two Calgary councillors after a vote on a $20-million defunding of the city police with Evan Woolley calling former officer Sean Chu a “moron.”.The testy exchange was over a decision to remove the money from the Calgary Police Service budget and distribute it to city social services..Woolley called Chu “one of the most ignorant morons on council,” and added “every developer that donates to him is a target I will push.”. Screen-Shot-2020-11-05-at-12.28.53-PMWoolley tweet .Chu said he will report the comment to the city hall ethics officer..In a statement he said if Woolley apologizes he will consider the matter closed..“This is against the Respectful Workplace policy that governs all councillors and their staff,” Chu said..“If Cllr Woolley has an issue with my stance on the question of defunding the police then he could have reached out to me to have a discussion.. UPDATED: Woolley to Chu: ‘You’re a moron’; refuses to apologizeSean ChuCourtesy Facebook .“We can disagree on an issue but mean spirited comments do nothing to build bridges or increase the level of discourse needed in such emotionally charged debates. I believe Calgarians deserve better from their elected officials.. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .“I consider this matter dealt with and will await the ethics commissioner’s response, and given the important council issues at hand, I will focus my energy on those.”.But later in the day, Woolley said he will not say sorry and, in fact, doubled down..“Last night I called out one of my #yyccc colleagues on Twitter. I have been a City Councillor for 2 terms and I am angry about some of the behaviour I’ve witnessed over that time. I think it is time to call it out,” Woolley tweeted..“During a discussion about supervised consumption sites in Calgary, Councillor Chu said that addiction is a “choice”. This is deeply insulting to the thousands of Calgarians who have lost a loved one during the opioid crisis..“My brother died of an overdose and I wish I had called the Councillor more forcefully at the time..“Councillor Chu also called Ireland’s decision to allow same-sex marriage a “social revolution” and compared it to cycle tracks. The lack of respect to members of Calgary’s LGBTQ community was both appalling and unforgivable..“So I will not apologize and I promise to speak out more forcefully in the future..“But I can’t sit idly by and ignore the actions and words that both hurt and insult large numbers of Calgarians. In a world that’s more divided than ever, I truly believe we must call out distortion, misinformation, ignorance, and hate.”.Woolley’s proposal to remove the $20 million over two years from the police budget of $400 million was passed by a vote of 9-5. It now goes to a full council debate..Coun. Jeromy Farkas, who is running for mayor next year, said the money should be taken from the city’s rainy day fund..Chu, Diane Colley-Urquhart, Farkas, Joe Magliocca and Peter Demong voted against the move..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
A war of words has erupted between two Calgary councillors after a vote on a $20-million defunding of the city police with Evan Woolley calling former officer Sean Chu a “moron.”.The testy exchange was over a decision to remove the money from the Calgary Police Service budget and distribute it to city social services..Woolley called Chu “one of the most ignorant morons on council,” and added “every developer that donates to him is a target I will push.”. Screen-Shot-2020-11-05-at-12.28.53-PMWoolley tweet .Chu said he will report the comment to the city hall ethics officer..In a statement he said if Woolley apologizes he will consider the matter closed..“This is against the Respectful Workplace policy that governs all councillors and their staff,” Chu said..“If Cllr Woolley has an issue with my stance on the question of defunding the police then he could have reached out to me to have a discussion.. UPDATED: Woolley to Chu: ‘You’re a moron’; refuses to apologizeSean ChuCourtesy Facebook .“We can disagree on an issue but mean spirited comments do nothing to build bridges or increase the level of discourse needed in such emotionally charged debates. I believe Calgarians deserve better from their elected officials.. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .“I consider this matter dealt with and will await the ethics commissioner’s response, and given the important council issues at hand, I will focus my energy on those.”.But later in the day, Woolley said he will not say sorry and, in fact, doubled down..“Last night I called out one of my #yyccc colleagues on Twitter. I have been a City Councillor for 2 terms and I am angry about some of the behaviour I’ve witnessed over that time. I think it is time to call it out,” Woolley tweeted..“During a discussion about supervised consumption sites in Calgary, Councillor Chu said that addiction is a “choice”. This is deeply insulting to the thousands of Calgarians who have lost a loved one during the opioid crisis..“My brother died of an overdose and I wish I had called the Councillor more forcefully at the time..“Councillor Chu also called Ireland’s decision to allow same-sex marriage a “social revolution” and compared it to cycle tracks. The lack of respect to members of Calgary’s LGBTQ community was both appalling and unforgivable..“So I will not apologize and I promise to speak out more forcefully in the future..“But I can’t sit idly by and ignore the actions and words that both hurt and insult large numbers of Calgarians. In a world that’s more divided than ever, I truly believe we must call out distortion, misinformation, ignorance, and hate.”.Woolley’s proposal to remove the $20 million over two years from the police budget of $400 million was passed by a vote of 9-5. It now goes to a full council debate..Coun. Jeromy Farkas, who is running for mayor next year, said the money should be taken from the city’s rainy day fund..Chu, Diane Colley-Urquhart, Farkas, Joe Magliocca and Peter Demong voted against the move..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
