‘I wasn’t sleeping’: Coquitlam mayor disappointed by council meeting ridicule online

After a photo that appeared to show Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart sleeping during a council meeting gained traction online, he is now telling CityNews that he wasn’t sleeping — he’s actually suffering from severe chronic back pain.

Stewart says that, during the week of the Dec. 11 council meeting, he slipped on a wet leafy walkway that caused excruciating pain. Stewart has a long history of back issues as well, as he was hit by a car at the tail end of his mayoral campaign in 2011.

In the photo, Stewart is seen reclining on a chair with a pillow behind his back and his eyes closed. He says this set-up is quite common for him during council meetings.

“I wasn’t sleeping … it’s a bench that was built for me because I have a back disability,” he said. “I’m not able to sit for long periods of time so I use a bench. It’s got a cushion under my knees … and there’s a sloped back cushion that allows me to lie down mostly prone during meetings.”

He says when he’s not feeling his best but still has to attend his 12-hour meetings, he hands off his duties to the acting mayor. In the case of Monday’s meeting, he actually left for the hospital to be examined due to his back pain.

Stewart says he isn’t happy with the online ridicule he’s been targeted with as of late, even adding this has been happening for some time.

“I’m incredibly disappointed. There was there’s a group that has been targeting some elements of things, and I have been called a cripple,” he said.

“They’ve made jokes about my disability, they suggested that someone should kick my cane away from me.”

Comments like these were made against Stewart on the social media platform Reddit, where he says it isn’t very easy to stand up for himself or others.

“Any time a person that has a physical disability is being ridiculed, it’s disappointing and I certainly stand up against it when it happens to others,” said Stewart.

“It’s obviously harder to do when it happens on Reddit because you simply don’t … there’s not much opportunity to get to set the record straight or to make sure people understand that.”