HALIFAX — A municipal councillor in Nova Scotia says someone tried to blackmail him into resigning by threatening to reveal a call made from his hotel room to a male escort service.
Steve Sampson, a member of Richmond County council, said he received an unmarked envelope in the mail Tuesday at his home containing a photocopy of a hotel bill from February, 2014, incurred while on county business in Seattle, Wash.
"The bill included a phone call to a male escort agency," Sampson told a news conference Thursday in Halifax.
The anonymous letter-writer told him he would publicize the expense unless Sampson resigned by Friday and agreed never to run for office again, he said.
Sampson said he instead decided to take the letter to RCMP, and asked them to investigate "this attempt to blackmail a public official."
He said he is disturbed that various scandals that are roiling Richmond County council have produced such a toxic threat.
"It has never been my practice to mix private, personal matters with public life. But in these circumstances, I don't believe I have a choice," he said in a statement to reporters.
As warden until 2014, Sampson led a successful fight to reduce county council to five seats from 10.
"The blackmailer apparently believes I can be embarrassed or shamed into resigning my seat, but I will not be blackmailed into leaving public office. Unlike the blackmailer, I have complete faith in the fairness and good judgment of the people of Richmond County. I trust them to weigh the motives of the blackmailer against my conduct over many years."
An RCMP spokesman could not be reached late Thursday to discuss any investigation.
Sampson, who is unmarried, has been a councillor for 25 years, and lives in the same house in which he was born 62 years ago. He also works as a regional outreach officer for the governing provincial Liberals.
The expenses were released in response to a Freedom of Information request by a county resident, part of an expenses scandal that grew from the fight over council's size.
Sampson told The Canadian Press he had not yet decided whether to run again in this October's municipal election, but said his blackmailers may have had the opposite of their intended effect.
"I'm not one bit reluctant to face the electorate," he said.
Sampson said he received dozens of supportive emails from the county and across the province after his press conference, including from councillors who opposed his reforms.
Victor David, who replaced Sampson as county warden but is currently on medical leave, said late Thursday he was shocked by the blackmail allegations.
"I don't think it's very nice if someone's blackmailing him ... I don't condone it, that's for sure," David said. "I'm glad if he took it to the authorities that he did that."
The once-divided council had begun working co-operatively in recent weeks, said Sampson, and he hopes that can continue when councillors meet again on Monday.
"I hope certainly we can get on with the business we were elected to do," he said. "I like to be optimistic."
