– unless he apologises for calling her ‘a rodent’
AT a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Town Clerk Carol Sooba told reporters that she would not be issuing any diesel for the council-issued vehicle used by City Mayor Hamilton Green until he apologises to her for the way in which he addressed her on two separate occasions.

She said that on one occasion he addressed her verbally, calling her “a rodent”, and on the other occasion he addressed her in a correspondence; and because of his disrespect for the office of the Town Clerk, and of her as holder of that office, he would first have to issue her an apology before she would resume issuing diesel for the vehicle assigned him.

Sooba said she views the Mayor’s conduct as very disrespectful, and the only way to end this impasse is for him to apologise.

She told reporters that while requesting fuel for his vehicle by way of a letter, Mayor Green failed or refused to recognise her portfolio, thus disrespecting her office. Instead, he addressed the letter to “Carol Sooba, in care of (Cc) the Office of the Town Clerk”.

Sooba believes that the letter should have addressed her as the Town Clerk, and it should have been more professional. Accordingly, she says, until the mayor apologises for his unprofessional conduct and the way he addressed her, she will not be issuing any fuel orders on his behalf.

Sooba claimed that the Mayor, on Monday, called her “a rodent”, and the last time she had checked, she was no rodent.

If the mayor is serious about fuel for his vehicle, he cannot expect that to be issue by “a rodent,” Sooba said.

She asserts that as long as she remains “a rodent” in the eyes of the mayor, the fuel will be unable to flow. “Rodents don’t issue fuel,” she declared.
By Leroy Smith