Port Moody task force chair steps down immediately after appointment, cites lack of transparency

A task force intended to establish communication guidelines for Port Moody election candidates has had a hard time getting established.

On Friday, the city announced Mayor Meghan Lahti had put together the Mayor’s Task Force on Public and Social Media Communications Guidelines for Elected Officials and Candidates, with Coun. Haven Lurbiecki serving as chair.

However, on Saturday evening, Lurbiecki announced she wouldn’t chair the committee, adding she had “serious concerns” about the task force impacting public discourse. There was also a lack of communication around her appointment, according to Lurbiecki.

“I was never directly contacted by the mayor about this task force and was simply told it had been created, that I had been appointed chair and that she had chosen the membership,” Lurbiecki wrote in a social media post.

Made up of four city councillors and three residents, the group’s job is to come up with guidelines to ensure election candidates “protect confidential information,” maintain civility, and “promote constructive dialogue” on social media.

“The overall goal is to establish shared expectations of how social media can be used to communicate as a member of council or a prospective member of council – to create a framework that fosters integrity, transparency, and respect in communications, particularly as it relates to city business,” Lahti stated in the release.

However, Lurbiecki contended the task force guidelines: “can easily be politicized or weaponized.”

Rather than improving trust in city politics, the task force could be seen as undermining that trust, according to Lurbiecki.

“Too often, criticism is dismissed as ‘misinformation,’” she wrote. “Instead of encouraging meaningful feedback and dialogue, this task force risks being seen as another way to discourage public participation.”

Lurbiecki also stated her proposal to livestream and record task force meetings was rejected.

“That lack of transparency and public accountability matters,” she wrote.

Other members of the committee appointed by the mayor include Couns. Diana Dilworth, Amy Lubik, and vice-chair Samantha Agtarap.

Community members Nicole Blades, Rosemary Lodge, and Robert Simons are also set to serve, with deputy city manager Kate Zanon acting as city staff liaison.

The task force is scheduled to bring their recommendations to council in June.