Cupids Mayor Harold Akerman stands in front of the Cupids Legacy Centre. His town could assume ownership of the building, depending on the outcome of a public vote.
The 67-year-old longtime member of council tendered his resignation Wednesday morning before heading on vacation with his family. Speaking with The Compass from Labrador, Akerman contributed his decision to step away from the council to growing tensions between councilors and an apparent inability to work together.
“It’s been building for a long time,” he said. “Some of the things that are going on and when you’ve got a group on council not willing to promote your town or go forward, then that’s frustration.”
Akerman pointed to a council that doesn’t see eye-to-eye on a couple of issues. He noted occasions when certain members of council approved an issue only to go against the decision a couple of days later.
“When you get a councilor making a motion that the Town of Cupids not send out information via their email to the residents to let them know some of the things that are going on in the community, especially the (Cupids) Legacy Centre and any church organization, that’s frustrating,” he said. “Me, as mayor, I like to be open as I was with the Legacy Centre … when the votes were counted, I accepted the decision and said, ‘OK, we have a town to run.’
“You’ve got to leave that behind you.”
Akerman was referring a plebiscite the town held last year to decide whether to move its municipal offices into space at the Cupids Legacy Centre. The issue divided the town and residents voted against the move.
Tension amongst councillors is nothing new in Cupids. The Compass reported last month that Akerman had called the RCMP to a council meeting when he and Coun. Mike Power got into a heated dispute on a number of issues.
Akerman’s decision to step away from council caught at least one councillor off guard.
“I was really surprised, really, when I heard the next day he was after giving it up,” said Coun. Francis Walsh. “We had different views and things and I guess he said he had enough of it.”
Walsh is the newest member of the Cupids’ council. He received the nod in a by election earlier this year. Before that, Walsh served on council 20 years ago.
“There was a bit of tension (in council) because, I guess, we thought (Akerman) was doing a bit of favourtism and we felt it was time to change that. We fought the system a little bit and he fought back,” he said.
Walsh felt there was plenty of attention put on the middle of the community and not enough on other parts of town.
“We should be all joined together and we should be as one. We weren’t doing that,” he said. “Council is fore the people in Cupids. It’s time for us to get together and work.”
Still, Akerman had praise for Cupids as a town after his resignation.
“I live in the most historic town in not only in Newfoundland, but in Canada. It has the greatest potential for tourism and development as there can be,“ he said. “At this time in my life, I want some time to myself,”
It is not known at the moment if the town will hold a by election to fill the empty spot on council although with the next round of municipal elections next September, Cupids may not fill the position at all.
According to the Municipalities Act, if a mayor resigns a town can either have “the deputy mayor assume the office of mayor for the remainder of the elected mayor's term or electing, by secret ballot, from among the remaining members of council, a person to assume the office of mayor for the remainder of the originally elected mayor's term.”
The Deputy Mayor is Christine Burry. Other members of council include Power, Walsh, Kevin Connolly, Gordon Power and Darren Akerman.
