Airing of grievances over Lachapelle hate speech is final agenda item on Tuesday

A thoroughly vexed City Councilor Steven Beaudoin, right, just before calling out Deputy Mayor Pete Lachapele, middle, during an April 18 City Council workshop.

ROCHESTER - Central to the city's recently enacted ethics policy is the requirement that while debate can be free and robust, there should be no belligerent, abusive, disparaging or slanderous remarks or personal attacks.
That's exactly what Deputy Mayor Pete Lachapelle is accused of during his April 18 tirade during which he called a private citizen a "liar" and several city councilors a "cancer" on the board.
Steven Beaudoin, one of the councilors impugned during Lachapelle's 10-minute spiel, asked that a discussion of Lachapelle's remarks be discussed during Tuesday's regular City Council meeting.
The agenda subject line reads, "Review on status of alleged ethics policy violations by Deputy Mayor Peter Lachapelle" and adds that the discussion is for "information only" with no resolution required, but Beaudoin said on Friday that he will be demanding a public apology at the very least.
"He violated the ethics policy 10 unique times," Beaudoin said. "He called a private citizen a liar, and he called me a cancer on the board."
The private citizen is Susan Rice, who made a formal complaint against Mayor Callaghan at a March City Council workshop.
As a result of an investigation led by Lachapelle, he concluded that Susan Rice "lied" in her complaint, which lacked "credibility," he asserted.
He also stated in his memorandum that Susan Rice, "in general lacks credibility." He also accused her of a sustained "bias" against Callaghan and accused her of "seeking revenge" for her son's removal from the City Council in May 2022.
Three others City Councilors were accused of being cancer on the board for voting against the removal of Chris Rice during his trial by the City Council.
Beaudoin, who voted in favor of removing Rice later lamented the fact, posting on social media that if he had it to do over again, he would've voted against removal.
"He was railroaded," Beaudoin said on Friiday.
Other councilors implied as being part of the cancer - who voted against Rice's removal - though not called out by name were Dana Berlin, Paula Hainey and Tim Fontneau.
Lachapelle, whose scathing indictment accused the councilors of being a "cancer" on the board, reached out to three of them on June 28, inviting them to a private meeting with the city attorney on Tuesday shortly before the start of the City Council meeting "in order to come to a final resolution of any lingering issues between us."
In his email he explained to Berlin, Hainey and Beaudoin that the "City Attorneys role will be to facilitate the discussion and to keep the conversation productive."
Beaudoin and Berlin both replied with emails that rejected the offer.
Hainey told The Rochester Voice on Friday that she would be open to an informal meeting, but thought it was fishy that City Attorney Terence O'Rourke had to be present.
"I would talk in person if he wants to put this behind him, but why does he need the attorney there," she said. "Even if we did put it behind us, I would need a public apology."
Interestingly, if Mayor Paul Callaghan had followed City Council rules the night of April 18, Tuesday night's agenda item might have been a mute point.

DUMBFOUNDED: Mayor Paul Callaghan had a motion and a second to stop Deputy Mayor Pete Lachapelle's public censure of four city councilors, but said nothing and did nothing but ask him to continue. (City of Rochester video screen capture)

At the 1:31:30 mark of that workshop Berlin seconds Beaudoin's motion to stop Lachapelle's hate speech. Normally when someone seconds a motion, the mayor will announce "discussion" where the merits on the motion are discussed by councilors. But in this case the mayor is somehow speechless. He looks to the left and back to the right, but says nothing.
A few moments later, Lachapelle says, "Shall I continue, mayor?"
"Yes," Callaghan says.

To view the workshop click here.