Breaking News – Cobourg Mayor Walks Out of Council Meeting
By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
Mayor Lucas Cleveland walked out of the special Cobourg council meeting Thursday because – with only himself and Councillor Brian Darling opposed – council chose to discuss the matter at hand in closed session.
A half-hour of debate preceded the walk-out, which Cleveland led off with a prepared statement on the letter he wrote in the wee hours of last Thursday morning – two and a half hours after a regular council session adjourned – demanding aggressive enforcement of trespassing as outlined in new provincial legislation.
The statement made it clear that the meeting had not been his idea, and he would only continue to participate if it remained in open session.
“I have nothing to hide,” Cleveland said.
“I believe that calling this meeting today is a misguided action by members of this council. This action of calling today’s meeting only further amplifies the position I stated in my letter.
“I believe that the public has a right to know where each and every member of this council stands on this most critical issue facing Cobourg.
“I personally have had enough of these kangaroo courts that exist that I have had to tolerate at the county, masquerading as closed sessions, and I won’t do that at this level.
“I tolerated the policing, the intimidation and the legal threats that were made at the county in closed session, because I was a lone voice representing the Cobourg population. I will not tolerate that at this level. I won’t participate, and I will leave.
“I have already had a legal opinion in regards to my letter, and I am prepared to defend it most vociferously in open session. I will not alter, apologize or amend or rescind a single word from the letter.”
Cleveland spoke of his request to Today’s Northumberland “to remove a single word – citizens – from the caption posted about my letter, which was the word chosen by Today’s Northumberland, not by me.
“I will not participate in a closed session meant to silence something that I did without any staff assistance. I did not go to staff, I did not involve the comms, I put out a statement as Mayor of Cobourg, for which I obtained legal advice.
“I certainly will not be resigning today, and I cannot be forced to.
“The conviction seems to be that I know I do not speak for any of you, but neither do any of you speak for me. My letter is just that – my letter.”
Councillor Miriam Mutton asked if that legal opinion had been obtained before the letter was released.
“I sought legal advice well in advance of releasing that letter,” the mayor said.
Deputy Mayor Nicole Beatty objected to several of the mayor’s remarks, leading off with the fact that no one was being asked to resign.
“As someone who supported this meeting, that was never the intent – it’s very important to address that,” Beatty insisted.
She said she had been taken aback to get the mayor’s letter in her e-mail feed at 2 AM last Thursday, a mere two and a half hours after “what I thought was a very productive meeting the night before where we passed an update to our parks bylaw, we passed a request from council for the mayor’s media policy – and then that letter kind of grew on its own.
“I did feel that letter spoke on behalf of council, and that letter was unnecessary given the collegial and consensus-building decisions council made the night prior.”
These questions must be answered in open session, the mayor insisted.
“I have stated clearly I will not be partaking in any closed session because I don’t believe it’s necessary, and I believe the entire Town of Cobourg deserves to hear where each member of this council stands and what issue they take with that letter.”
Mutton repeated her conviction that council members needed the closed session as an opportunity to speak freely, though she added, “I would be happy to discuss in open after we have been in closed. I think that’s a normal protocol.”
Councillor Brian Darling – the only other member of council to vote with the mayor not to proceed to closed session – said he never took the letter as the opinion of council, though “I did feel it could have been a little softer. It was a little hard, in my opinion, but that’s my opinion.
“In the open, for everyone, is a better way to get the message, the true message, out there,” Darling stated.
“Nobody is here to attack anybody – nobody is here to do anything except have a conversation with our mayor about a letter. That’s it. That’s absolutely it,” Councillor Adam Bureau said.
The letter caused a great deal of controversy, Bureau pointed out.
“I’m not understanding why you are taking this stance that everyone’s attacking you, when all it is is a conversation and, I think, a good conversation everyone wants to have freely,” he continued.
“I don’t understand what the big deal is on that.”
“Perhaps you can help council and the community understand why you had to make such an aggressive statement with loaded words, like using the word ‘hostile,’ ‘weaponizing’ the Integrity Commissioner, which is actually independent,” Beatty appealed.
There followed clipped comments back and forth between the mayor and deputy mayor, Cleveland accusing Beatty of speaking “untruths.”
Beatty persisted, pointing out that he had said, at the council meeting of the night before, that he would stay out of the lane of the police.
“You tied the police into your letter. You connected the dots to a town hall meeting which has no direct correlation,” she said.
Beatty asked if the legal opinion he received had been paid for out of the tax levy. Cleveland declared he used neither taxpayer funds nor staff resources in that regard.
“Supposition is a wonderful thing,” he stated.
“Suppositions are what this letter was filled with, and the way people choose to interpret the suppositions say more about them than, necessarily, the words are about in that letter.
“I will not participate in a closed session. That is my choice. I have nothing to hide.”
The vote on whether to proceed with a closed session was taken. As the yeses began to outnumber the nos from Cleveland and Darling, the mayor began to gather his belongings.
“I will pass the chair – enjoy your closed session,” he said before heading for the door.
About 90 minutes later, council reconvened in open session (with the chairs of both Cleveland and Darling vacant) to share a motion:
“Today Cobourg Council met to discuss a matter in closed session pursuant to Section 239 (2) (b) of the Municipal Act 2001 and as a result of the closed session, Council discussed a statement issued by the Office of the Mayor on June 26, 2025, in which the Mayor did not participate.
“During the conversation, Council reaffirmed its continued commitment to support a safe community within the Town of Cobourg, including supporting the Mayor and his initiatives, through decisions of Council. This includes continually working collaboratively with the Cobourg Police Service, other levels of government and community partners to work within their respective mandates and responsibilities.
“Council will continue to listen and work diligently to keep our community safe for everyone.”
The motion passed without discussion.
