Yahoo Finance Rallies for and against Calgary Coun. Sean Chu held at the same time on Sunday
Two duelling rallies — one calling for Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu to step down and another defending him — are being held in Calgary on Sunday.
Calgary mayor-elect Jyoti Gondek attended the rally calling for Chu's resignation. She has previously said if the embattled re-elected city councillor does not step down before Monday's swearing-in ceremony, she will not administer him the oath of office — and has asked the Alberta government to explore options to remove him if necessary.
Chu has faced increasing calls for his resignation after news surfaced that he had been disciplined for physical contact with a 16-year-old girl when he was a police officer.
On Thursday he announced he won't be stepping down, as he was duly re-elected and was never criminally charged.
One rally, hosted by a group called Resign Chu, will be held at Calgary City Hall at noon. The group's Facebook page says they are Calgarians, including Ward 4 residents and sexual assault survivors, demanding Chu resign.
In an email to media Saturday, a second group issued a statement in support of the councillor, and said they would be holding a rally at Olympic Plaza from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.
"We support Sean because he was officially elected by the citizens of Ward 4, despite the dubiously timed media leak of distorted and misleading information just three days prior to election date," the release issued by the group read.
As of Thursday, all of Chu's newly elected and incumbent council colleagues had either called for him to resign or questioned whether it is appropriate for him to serve. There were also hundreds of people using a hashtag calling for his resignation on social media.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Chu addressed two incidents reported on by CBC News. Chu has been under scrutiny since CBC News broke the story on Oct. 15 that when he was a 34-year-old police officer in 1997 he faced allegations that involved a 16-year-old girl.
WATCH: Coun. Sean Chu addressed incidents at a press conference on Thursday.
He has since apologized publicly to the now-woman, and to his family for another incident. On Wednesday, CBC reported that Chu was involved in a 2008 fight with his wife that ended with police responding and seizing a firearm, which was confirmed through court records.
"I will continue to serve as the Ward 4 city councillor," Chu said on Thursday.
"I was duly-elected by the people of Ward 4, and I intend to stay at this position to serve the people of Ward 4."
