Ten days ago, we reported that councilor Michael Theus had been stripped of the traffic portfolio. Mayor Darrell Bradley was away when the news was reported, but, we caught up with him today where he explained precisely why he re-assigned the portfolio to councilor Alifah Elrington Hyde.
He says there is a firm policy on taxi's - which was disregarded:..
Jules Vasquez
"We have heard reliable reports that over 20 almost 30 license plates for taxis has been issued under Mr. Theus when the council had taken a resolution not to issue anymore license plate. Is this why he was stripped?"
Mayor Darrell Bradley
"This was one of the reasons why I felt that it was not a good fate. The actual number is 29; our auditor has produced a report. 29 taxi licenses have been issued between the periods of March 8 to just before I went away two weeks ago. That's in convention of the council's policy which is really a national policy not to issue anymore taxi."
Jules Vasquez
"Is there any known reason why Mr. Theus went against a council's resolution?"
Mayor Darrell Bradley
"I had sat with him in terms of what his explanation was - I wasn't satisfied to what his explanation was. I think that he had indicated that persons were coming to him and I saw some of the interviews since I have come back and people are saying well it's a job, it's this and that. The issue really is that we have a policy in place and it undermines the system if you would make an exception for individual persons, if you have a policy then stick with the police and implement the policy across the board."
Jules Vasquez
"You are saying it wasn't a good fate but that really is a euphemism - he act against the directive. Looking at it specifically these people have been in a sense defrauded by the city council because they paid for something and they didn't get it."
Mayor Darrell Bradley
"That policy is not a secret. I went on the media and I remember I was on KREM and a woman call me and I had indicated to the woman that we have in place a policy that we are not issuing it. It undermines my response to that woman if then we as a council then go around and issue these things. Those persons who received those license plates were well away because there is no secret we are not issuing taxi licenses - they don't any expectation to something that they know they should not have gotten."
Jules Vasquez
"With greatest respect, I am in the media and I didn't know. So I am saying that ignorance is an excuse; it's not a law."
Mayor Darrell Bradley
"It's not an excuse."
Jules Vasquez
"Wouldn't you accept that these people have an arguable case that they got set-up by city hall? They were not running any red; they went to do a licit transaction we presume."
Mayor Darrell Bradley
"I will not accept that. There is a policy in place, there is a resolution, this is a public policy. Persons have come to the city council requesting taxi licenses and we have refused them. It undermines that policy if certain persons were given those taxi licenses and those persons have no expectations for what is clearly against a policy against the council."
Jules Vasquez
"If it is so well known that you can't get a taxi license and you got one then might some consideration have been involve to facilitate a forbidden process?"
Mayor Darrell Bradley
"I didn't know about that. This is something that is ongoing in terms of our investigation. Our auditors are looking at this. When the auditors brought this to my attention I had given instructions to take corrective actions. They are going to give me a report to ensure that we have rectify the situation in relation to all of these 29 persons and we are where these people are talking to us. We are asking them to explain to us the circumstances under which they got these taxi licenses."
Councillor Theus is now in charge of the Public Relations portfolio.
