Coun. Stevenson’s bombshell allegation: She’s not attending committees in-person because of ‘disrespect and harassment’

Coun. Stevenson’s bombshell allegation: She’s not attending committees in-person because of ‘disrespect and harassment’

A request to join a province-wide campaign that aims to ensure civility in municipal government instead exposed a deep rift on London City Council including claims of ongoing disrespect and harassment.

On Tuesday, the Strategic Priorities and Policy Committee (SPPC) considered endorsing the Elect Respect campaign and signing a pledge meant to improve the tone of political discourse and encourage respectful participation in local government.

However, Coun. Susan Stevenson revealed she’s been participating in committee meetings by video conference for some of those same reasons.

She explained to colleagues, “Because of the ongoing disrespect and harassment that I’ve been experiencing in committees that has been unable to be unresolved (and) remains unresolved. I have attempted to speak with the people directly. I have gone to leadership. I’ve been advised to file an Integrity Commissioner complaint.”

She did not reveal the names of the people she accuses of harassment and disrespect, but suggested it’s multiple individuals.

“On social media over the last three years, I’ve had repeated and ongoing disrespectful comments and harassment from employees of the City of London, fellow councilors, and contracted agencies.”

Stevenson’s social media posts regarding homelessness, harm reduction, and the clustering of frontline agencies in the Old East Village have frequently drawn backlash online.

There have been several complaints to the integrity commissioner about some of her social media posts, including a finding that she bullied a deputy city manager, and violated the code of conduct by posting a picture of an identifiable homeless man while referencing criminality and vandalism.

Meanwhile, internal tensions were on display earlier in the SPPC meeting when Stevenson was expressing concern about the Strategic Plan Update which prompted a point of order from Coun. Sam Trosow.

She suggested Trosow intentionally interrupted her comments with his point of order.

Later, Stevenson attended the second meeting of the day in-person (the Budget Committee’s Public Participation Meeting), but sat on the opposite side of Council Chambers from her usual seat.

She sat in the spot normally reserved for Ward 14 Coun. Steve Hillier, who was attending remotely.

To date, 29 municipalities across Ontario have officially signed the Elect Respect pledge, committing to uphold civility in municipal politics.

Stevenson said despite her concerns about harassment, she would support endorsement of the pledge, “I’m looking for my colleagues’ support to ensure that I do have a safe space to come to represent the residents that I represent, to speak freely, to bring different and diverse opinions to this council.”

“I’m an elected female city councilor that attends meetings remotely, and I think that says that we have a lot of work to do on this,” she emphasized.

However, Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis said he could not support the motion.

“I think it’s a virtue signaling motion that doesn’t have any sort of real meaning behind it. We know we all have different opinions. We’ve heard it today. We’ve had points of order called where we all have different opinions of what is respectful and what is not,” asserted Lewis.

He suggested that there are already remedies to address disrespectful behaviour, “To me, this pledge doesn’t really accomplish anything. I think about the tools we have, and I know Coun. Stevenson and I may disagree on this one, I think the tools we have are the integrity commissioner process and the code of conduct.”

The motion endorsing the pledge was supported 13-1, Lewis opposed.

Stevenson believes the impact of disrespectful behaviour extends well outside council chambers.

“It is a real issue,” Stevenson adds. “There are a lot of people who won’t run [in the 2026 municipal election] because they watch what is happening to me.”

Here’s what the pledge from the Elect Respect Campaign says

Council supports the Elect Respect pledge and commits to:

• Treat others with respect in all spaces—public, private, and online,
• Reject and call out harassment, abuse, and personal attacks,
• Focus debate on ideas and policies, not personal attacks,
• Help build a supportive culture where people of all backgrounds feel safe to run for and hold office,
• Call on relevant authorities to ensure the protection of elected officials who face abuse or threats,
• Model integrity and respect by holding one another to the highest standards of conduct.

And that council calls on elected officials, organizations and community members to support the Elect Respect campaign and sign the online pledge at www.electrespect.ca.