Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry's eligibility to seek re-election is coming under renewed scrutiny after the landlord of the address used to qualify her 2022 nomination said neither Kathryn nor her husband Fred McGarry are tenants of the property and have not been tenants in the three years he has owned the building.
Cambridge realtor Corry Van Iersel owns 715 Coronation Blvd. and says even if the McGarrys have a sub-lease agreement, it's invalid because sublets are not allowed without his permission.
No tenant at that address has been given permission to sublet, he said.
"I don't think it's valid," Van Iersel reiterated in a phone call. "I don't know who they are. I've never met either of them and nobody has ever got permission to sublet to them, to my knowledge, and I am the landlord."
The realtor said he is not the one who initiated questions about the legitimacy of McGarry's nomination, but was willing to cooperate when asked.
Asked if he would have provided permission to sublet if approached by his registered tenant, Van Iersel said "in this circumstance I probably wouldn't have said yes."
"I don't think it's right that somebody is mayor of a city and doesn't live in the city. They're not looking out for the best interests of their community."
Van Iersel went on to provide a dated and signed letter confirming the McGarrys are not tenants of his property.
The address in question is a nondescript, one-storey building across the street from Cambridge Memorial Hospital. It houses a number of offices occupied by various businesses in the healthcare field.
Among them is Fullbody Function, a chiropractic and wellness clinic located in Unit 7, the number McGarry used on her form.
Jordan Shnier is a chiropractor who runs Fullbody Function with Kara Harnish.
Shnier confirmed to CambridgeToday there are at least two tenants who sublet offices within the unit who have no association with the chiropractic business, but he refused to say if the mayor is one of those tenants.
He cited privacy reasons for not disclosing names and said it's common practice for businesses like his to sublet extra space to anyone who needs to use it as an office.
He also said that despite what Van Iersel said about not allowing sub leases without permission, he has a contract that states otherwise.
When CambridgeToday visited 715 Coronation Blvd. on Wednesday, a man who identified as a registered massage therapist answered the door at Unit 7.
Although he didn't want to provide his name, he said he has worked at the clinic for two years and has never heard the names Kathryn or Fred McGarry. He appeared surprised when shown the address on the mayor's nomination form.
CambridgeToday called the number on the nomination form and sent an email to the mayor requesting comment early Wednesday afternoon.
In response to that outreach, the mayor's email reply came late in the day, stating she has "spoken to both the police and [her] lawyer" and asked that nothing be published until her lawyer had an opportunity to respond.
"I very much suspect you may not have the full picture," she stated.
On Thursday afternoon McGarry responded in an email, saying she used that address on her nomination paperwork to avoid "harassment and bullying, and, ultimately, as a safety precaution."
"These incidents only solidify that choice and shed a little bit of light on what it’s like to be in municipal politics. This only serves as a distraction to the actual issues in our city, which is what I am working on day in and day out."
She went on to say she and her husband have more than one qualifying address but the one in question has been certified.
"I more than meet the requirements to hold office and run for office."
She continued by saying she has been the target of a "well-resourced and very vocal group who is dissatisfied with one of the decisions council made this past term."
That group is presumed to be Blair Engaged, a grassroots organization of residents opposed to the mega-warehouse proposed in Blair.
"At the end of the day, I am going to continue to make decisions that I feel are in the best interest of the overall community. I am going to continue to show up for my community. I will not be bullied into submission. I have served the community of Cambridge for decades, in many different roles and through many challenges, and I hope to be able to continue to do so,” McGarry wrote.
This isn't the first time the mayor's eligibility to hold office in Cambridge has come into question.
McGarry, who lives in North Dumfries township, used 56 Cambridge Street, her campaign office, as an address in her run for mayor in 2018.
As laid out in the Municipal Elections Act (MEA), candidates can either own or rent property within the municipality where they are seeking elected office.
Candidates listing addresses where they are tenants must provide proof of tenancy on election day and lease the space for a minimum of six weeks within the calendar year of an election.
When the issue raised its head last fall in a complaint to the Ontario Ombudsman, city clerk Danielle Manton confirmed "Kathryn McGarry was eligible to run as mayor based on her satisfying the eligibility requirements of the Municipal Act and the Municipal Elections Act."
Manton said McGarry "has maintained her eligibility to be a member of council both by the fact that she has leased property in the City of Cambridge as well as through her spouse leasing property in the City of Cambridge."
In an email to CambridgeToday on Wednesday, Manton offered the following statement: "the candidate for mayor, Kathryn McGarry has met the requirements for eligibility under section 17 (2) of the Municipal Elections Act."
Although Manton would not detail how the qualifying address on McGarry's form was vetted, according to the MEA, the address would need to appear on the tax roll and the tenant would have to provide a lease agreement showing the duration of the rental.
Manton did not provide comment when asked if the landlord's letter had any bearing on the eligibility of the qualifying address used by McGarry.
McGarry's lawyer Bernard J. Cummins stated in an email that he is "entirely confident that Mayor McGarry has faithfully and dutifully complied with the requirements set out for candidacy in the Municipal Elections Act. "
Despite those assertions, University of Waterloo Professor Emeritus Peter Woolstencroft said he's surprised the mayor would allow this situation to develop knowing questions about her residency have been raised before.
"My rule is if one goose honks they all honk," said the political science expert. "Don't give the geese any reason to get excited."
Whether or not McGarry is in the clear on this issue doesn't matter, he said. "She has given reason for questions to be asked and doubts to be raised. Not good."
"You don't want grey zones."
Pictured below is the Ministry prescribed Form 1 that was used to certify the mayoral candidate Kathryn McGarry. Personal contact information has been redacted.
