Former council candidate says Woodstock mayor should step down amid charges

A former city council candidate says Woodstock Mayor Trevor Birtch should step down while he faces criminal charges of sexual assault.  

"I believe leadership should be advocating for him to resign," said Kate Leatherbarrow, a community activist and business owner in Woodstock who ran for a council seat in the 2018 election. 

Birtch, 46, was charged last week with assault, sexual assault and sexual assault with choking. The charges stem from incidents that took place last year. 

He has not commented publicly about the case and he is due to appear in a London court in May. 

Leatherbarrow says the right thing for Birtch to do would be to step down from the mayor's chair while the case works its way through the courts. She said Birtch staying in a position of authority while facing serious criminal charges sends the wrong message to survivors of sexual violence in Woodstock, a town of about 40,000. 

"I would have expected to hear an acknowledgement of survivors," she said. "There are survivors in this community. And this is discouraging for the eyes and ears that are watching."

Leatherbarrow has had her clashes with members of Woodstock City council before. When Councillor Ron Fraser died in April of last year, she submitted her name to be considered to fill the vacancy. 

Leatherbarrow had missed a council seat by only 59 votes in the 2018 election. Under their procedure for filling vacant seats, council had the option of appointing her as the next runner-up in the election.

However, by a unanimous vote, council voted to appoint former Councillor Todd Poetter to the seat. Leatherbarrow raised the issue with the city's integrity commissioner, who ruled that while council deviated from the staff recommendation for filling the seat, it did not contravene the city's policies or the Municipal Act. 

"We've got great things to talk about in Woodstock," said Leatherbarrow. "But this is not one of them. These charges are serious." 

Jennifer Dunn is the executive director of the London Abused Women's Centre. She said Birtch has a moral obligation to step down pending the outcome in the courts even if his resignation is not required under the Municipal Act. 

"It is a complete disregard for the value of women and girls in our community that the mayor is able to continue on with his life after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman," said Dunn. "It would be in the best interest of the city if he would step down while this case is in the courts."

At a closed-door meeting on Monday, it was decided that Birtch does face an investigation by Ontario Civilian Police Services Commission regarding his role on Woodstock's Police Services Board. He will not serve on the board while that investigation takes place. 

The city has scheduled a special council meeting for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday to address the charges facing Birtch but no agenda has been posted, so it's unclear exactly how it will affect the mayor.