‘No confidence’ in mayor leads Merritt city councillor to resign

A Merritt city councillor has stepped down citing doubts in the city's mayor.

"I resign from my position, effective immediately, as I do not have confidence in Mayor Linda Brown's ability to lead, or represent each council member fairly," Mike Bhangu wrote in a social media post.

According to his social media post, Bhangu sent his resignation letter to Merritt's mayor and council today, Dec. 13.

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"I would like to thank the people of Merritt for the opportunity to serve, and I thank all staff and councillors for their efforts in making Merritt a great place to be," he wrote.

In the days after the November catastrophic flooding in Merritt, Bhangu started an online fundraiser with the goal of forwarding the funds to evacuees.

While he and other Merritt residents were evacuated, Bhangu heard from his constituents that the Kamloops emergency support services were not moving quickly enough, so he started the fundraiser with the goal of sending the money to residents that were left to support themselves.

The fundraiser gathered over $8,000 since it was started on Nov. 17.

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Bhangu is also facing criminal charges for uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.

He was charged on Aug. 14, but the alleged offence took place June 29, 2021.

When iNFOnews.ca asked about the charges in August, Bhangu deferred to a statement he made to Merritt radio station Q101.1.

"The allegations are coming from an uninvited individual who came to my home, placed my safety in question by virtue of being there, and had a problem with me asking him to leave my property. The allegations are untrue, period,” he told the radio station.

According to court documents, a trial is set to last three days at Merritt Law Courts, beginning April 27, 2022.

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