IGNACE — Mayor Bill Gascon intends to resign less than six months after being first elected, following a breakdown of the municipal council.
In a lengthy Facebook post on Monday, Gascon said he and Coun. Al Zimmer are stepping down from their roles due to what he called "irresponsible behaviours of our colleagues and administration this past month."
It comes less than a week after the other three members of council — Jodie Defeo, John Taddeo and Kim Baigrie — issued a cryptic statement that suggested there was a rift around the council table.
The statement said those three "have stepped in and taken a stern position to protect and enforce their obligations to protect employees, ensure a safe and healthy working environment, and protect the rights of those individuals.”
"Ignace will remain consistent in its collective efforts to ensure democracy remains at the forefront of every decision it makes at Township Hall,” it stated.
In his post, Gascon expressed frustration with the state of the current council.
"I have been trying for the past three weeks to get the council back together, having constructive meetings to look after municipal business," he wrote. "I have called three meetings and could not get quorum and it looks to me that they will just continue to call the meetings on their own without any involvement from the mayor."
Ignace has a council meeting scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
