Rob Norris says he regrets Charlie Clark attack post, benches campaign manager after backlash

• Click here for the latest: The library, that Halloween post and other key moments from the final Saskatoon mayoral election forum

Saskatoon mayoral candidate Rob Norris says he regrets a weekend social media post that accused incumbent mayoral candidate Charlie Clark of mistreating female board members at the city's Remai Modern Art Museum. Norris also says his campaign manager has been asked to step aside. 

"I have taken full responsibility and will take full responsibility for this," Norris said at a news conference Monday of the post. "While I did not approve it, it went out under my name."

"I want to extend my heartfelt regrets to Charlie Clark, to his family and to all of those that have called, emailed and contacted me questioning my intent," he added. 

The Halloween-themed post, which appeared on Facebook and Instagram Saturday, listed some of Norris's by-now-familiar criticisms of Clark's "spooky record," including a "scary" $134-million downtown library and a bike lanes "nightmare."

But the list concluded with a fresh line of attack, just as the civic election season entered its final week. 

"Terrifying treatment of female Remai Modern board members," Norris's post said of Clark.

Clark: 'We are better than that here'

In a statement issued Monday afternoon, Clark said it was important for people, including his own children, to see Norris take responsibility for his statement.

"But I heard no acceptance of responsibility for all of the misleading comments he has made throughout his campaign," Clark added.

Clark cited Norris' statements about "Charlie Clark's Carbon Tax Plan," which references a series of outlined green energy projects that would each require city council's approval, not the mayor's sole stamp of approval.

"Will he express regret to the [Saskatoon Public Library] for calling it 'Charlie Clark's Gold Plated Library' and promises to destroy the decades of work that many people have undertaken in planning and saving, to instead initiate legal and financial risks to the city?" Clark said of Norris' plan to "shelve" the library's planned new $134-million downtown library.  

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"When challenged on all of these issues, instead of expressing regret, Mr. Norris and his team ramped up their communications, just as Mr. Norris did yesterday to the CBC in defending his Halloween post," Clark continued. 

"We have seen the impact of divisive, misleading politics in the United States. I believe we are better than that here."

Norris campaign manager's future role uncertain

Norris said his campaign manager, Dale Richardson, has been asked to step away from the campaign for a few days.

"I'll review the presence of Dale Richardson over the course of the coming days," Norris said of Richardson's long-term future on the campaign. 

Richardson declined to comment Monday.

Norris said he planned to personally apologize to Clark later on in the day.

Monday's news conference was originally meant for an announcement about military members and veterans, but was instead taken up by Norris' comments on the social media post. 

Norris' campaign team said it was cancelling a policy announcement that had been scheduled for Tuesday morning. 

What Norris said on Sunday

Clark issued a statement Sunday night saying Norris "crossed the line" and took to Twitter to further express his disappointment over Norris' "significant questionable judgment."

Norris said Monday he was still unsure himself about how the post came to be on his Facebook page, adding he was out on the campaign trail on Saturday. He said he didn't learn about the post until Sunday morning, after CBC News reached out to his campaign about the post. 

In an interview on Sunday afternoon, when asked how he hoped the post would come across, Norris said, "What I want and hope people will take away is there are serious subjects that we've been debating, addressing and going back and forth on throughout the campaign. And while essentially wrapped in the spirit of Halloween, the issues are serious."

In his Monday news conference, Norris said the post and his interview "do not reflect the values that the good, decent and fair-minded people of Saskatoon expect."

Norris said he had a busy day on Sunday and that he "had a chance to reflect, especially over the course of last night."

"What I should have been focused on really is issues of humanity," he said. "That was a miss on my part. And over the course of last night, I knew exactly what needed to be done."

What Richardson said

Richardson had joined Norris on the phone line for his Sunday interview and offered to answer when asked about the intent of the line about Remai Modern board members.

"It was a Halloween-themed ad and the words that I used were meant to be Halloween-themed but certainly meant to raise the issue of the board governance and [the Saskatoon StarPhoenix's story] and the Globe and Mail reporting that Rob spoke about," Richardson said. 

Richardson was referring to stories that explored concerns about the relationship between city hall and the museum's board. In the StarPhoenix story, one former female board member said she felt bullied during one meeting with Clark.

Richardson said words like "terrifying" and "scary" were not meant to be taken literally. 

In his Sunday statement, Clark said Norris was "deliberately playing a dangerous game by taking a media story's representation of how I talked to an entire board about a serious workplace safety issue that wasn't being dealt with, and turning this into an accusation about how I treat women.

"Throughout this campaign, Norris has repeatedly manipulated facts to mislead the public about important issues we are facing as a community."