A Peterborough resident appalled by city council’s recent decision not to penalize Mayor Jeff Leal for breaching council’s code of conduct is organizing a protest at city hall on Monday afternoon (June 9).
Danielle Turpin is asking other concerned residents to send a message to council by attending the “Rally for Integrity” at 5 p.m. on Monday. Following the rally, Turpin is encouraging participants to fill the public gallery in council chambers for the city council meeting at 6 p.m., when council’s decision will be ratified.
At its general committee meeting this past Monday night (June 2), city council voted 7-3 to not penalize Mayor Leal in response to a joint inquiry report from the City of Peterborough’s integrity commissioner Guy Giorno that concluded the mayor had contravened the code of conduct by intimidating councillor Alex Bierk and by bullying councillor Joy Lachica in relation to the controversial Bonnerworth Park redevelopment.
“I decided to organize the rally for integrity because, like so many others who were at city hall on Monday night, I left feeling very angry and disappointed — even sad,” Turpin tells kawarthaNOW.
“What we saw was a failure of leadership and a dismissal of accountability on the mayor. This decision council made on June 2nd was wrong. It did not reflect the integrity report. It did not reflect what community wants. And it didn’t reflect the code of conduct.”
At the meeting, councillor Gary Baldwin brought forward a motion that proposed no penalty for the mayor for contravening the code of conduct and proposed referring remedial measures suggested by the integrity commissioner to staff for consideration.
Only five of the 10 members of council present during the discussion (the mayor had recused himself) spoke about the findings of the report.
Councillors Baldwin and Dave Haacke stated that no penalty was warranted — council could have chosen to either reprimand the mayor or suspend his pay for up to 90 days — and Bierk, Lachica, and Keith Riel stated that Baldwin’s motion and commentary downplayed the mayor’s behaviour and negated the intention of the code of conduct.
After the discussion, council voted 7-3 in favour of Baldwin’s no-penalty motion, with only councillors Bierk, Lachica, and Riel voting against it.
“Council had an opportunity to send a message that they believe in integrity and transparency and they chose not to instead,” Turpin says. “They chose to do nothing.”
Turpin, who is a personal support worker and the founder and managing director of the Home Care Workers’ Co-operative, was one of the nominees for Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce’s inaugural Luminary Awards for women in business. She has been considering running for city council in the October 2026 municipal election.
“It’s always been in the back of my mind to run for city council and after last Monday’s meeting it lit a fire under me,” she says. “Change needs to happen with this council and we need more people who can actually represent the city of Peterborough and not their own agenda.”
Turpin admits that what she witnessed on Monday night “gave me pause and concern about whether I as a woman should run” — a point she also made in a public Facebook post following the meeting.
“If someone like me — strong, resilient, and determined — can feel so shaken, imagine how many other important voices we’ve lost before they even had a chance to speak.”
For Monday’s rally, Turpin is encouraging people to bring signs to the rally and also to wear pink shirts, which symbolize a commitment to stand up against bullying.
“We should not accept bullying or intimidation as the norm and it’s time to make our voices heard,” Turpin says.
For updates on the rally, visit the Facebook event page at www.facebook.com/events/1235670124754690/.
