Medicine Hat mayor Linnsie Clark considering legal action after decision to strip her powers

Medicine Hat Mayor Linnsie Clark stood on the steps of city hall to make an announcement.

She will be considering legal action after the rest of the council stripped away many of her powers as mayor and cut her pay in half.

Clark says that judicial review could take several months.

“If a court determines that I was wrong or overbearing, I will apologize for my inquiries or the manner in which I made them.”

A third-party investigation report was released on Tuesday.  It was critical of Clark, finding she mistreated City Manager Ann Mitchell during a council meeting last summer in dealing with a major staff restructuring.

The report found Mitchell was not treated with courtesy, dignity or respect, and the manager’s professional and ethical reputation was harmed.

Clark says she wasn’t even told the report was being released.

“I had expected that I would be consulted on the redactions or informed before it being released, but that was an administrative decision that they made.”

During Clark’s public appearance supporters showed up at city hall to back the mayor.

“This council has I believe made a serious mistake of stripping her of her abilities to do what we voted her in to do,” says Medicine Hat resident Kym Porter.

“It’s a game and they’re trying to get rid of Linnsie. And the citizens are not happy as you can tell by the turnout,” added Lorne Schaerer.

Global News reached out to the City of Medicine Hat and city manager Ann Mitchell for comment but were told no one would be speaking on the mayor’s statements today.

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