Former Gimli councillor Andy Damm said his resignation from council last month was done in protest to procedures that he could not in good conscience accept.
The RM reported that Damm had handed in his resignation on Jan. 24, leaving a four-member council consisting of Mayor Kevin Chudd, Deputy Mayor and Coun. Kurt Reichert and councillors Richard Petrowski and Thora Palson until the upcoming municipal election in October.
The Express had asked the RM a few weeks ago to share Damm’s resignation and confirm the mayor’s knowledge around the resignation, but it didn’t respond to email questions.
Damm spoke with the Express last week, saying his stepping down was a “protest resignation” pertaining to municipal leadership.
“In my opinion, if the residents of Gimli knew some of the background behind recent decisions, they would be very uncomfortable with the direction of their RM,” said Damm.
What “broke the camel’s back” with regard to his decision to leave were two recent events.
“The first reason pertains to the procedures around interim chief administrative officer [Valorie Unrau] and the new CAO appointment of D. J. Sigmundson, plus the contract that was signed with him. Those procedures, to me, were abhorrent. They can probably do it, but I think it should have been done in an open context. And it wasn’t,” said Damm. “The other reason for my resignation had to do with the procedures around the formal investigation and the suspension of the mayor.”
The Express had previously reported — after the RM issued a statement on its website — that a formal complaint against Mayor Chudd made in 2025 resulted in an investigation using a Halifax-based lawyer and investigator. The investigator’s report determined that Chudd had committed several transgressions. Council subsequently voted to suspend Chudd from all mayoral duties for seven days last month, but without a loss of pay.
The Express had asked the municipality how each councillor had voted on the suspension of the mayor, why the mayor wasn’t docked pay, how much the total investigation cost and why the investigation report couldn’t be shared with the public (see Jan. 22, 2026, Express online). The RM cited confidentiality legislation.
The paper also reported that Sigmundson was appointed CAO late last year by a majority of council consisting of Mayor Chudd and councillors Reichert and Palson during a special meeting held on Dec. 15, 2025. Sigmundson’s appointment took effect on Dec. 22. Councillors Damm and Petrowski had voted against the appointment.
RM and council spokesperson Christine Payne had told the paper that Sigmundson’s “proposal” for the top job had been chosen over that of interim CAO Valorie Unrau’s, and that “no formal application process occurred” and the job hadn’t been publicly posted (see Dec. 25, 2025, Express).
Sigmundson had been serving as the RM’s strategic projects coordinator before his appointment as CAO. He has years of CAO experience through former jobs with the RM of St. Clements and the RM of St. Andrews.
Although Damm said he couldn’t abide by the leadership decisions made with regard to the two recent matters, he couldn’t elaborate further as those matters had been discussed in meetings not open to the public.
“My first and utmost responsibility is to the residents of Gimli, the ratepayers and constituents, not to council. My responsibility is to work with council on behalf of the people of Gimli,” said Damm. “And I could not stand by these decisions in all good conscience. A lot of the background to these matters is contained in in-camera sessions.”
Damm is a retired commercial airline pilot who also served as a pilot union representative, and he’s no stranger to addressing difficult organizational matters.
At a regular council meeting on April 17, 2024, for instance, Damm said he would’ve been “remiss” in his duties to municipal taxpayers had he remained silent on financial losses of just under $1 million at the Gimli Community Development Corporation. Mayor Chudd was the head of the CDC board at the time Damm blew the whistle on the corporation’s fiscal decline (see April 25, 2024, Express).
Damm said he feels “disheartened” when people “sit and watch while things go on” but say and do nothing to change it.
“This is a protest resignation more than anything else,” he repeated when asked about the municipal workplace milieu, “for the mere reason — and this is exactly the way I feel and I’ve said it numerous times — that if you’re sitting there being complacent, then you’re complicit with what’s going on.”
He was aware of some of the speculative statements on social media that popped up after the news of his resignation, he said, and he welcomes people to reach out to him or stop him in the street whenever he’s in Gimli or another part of the municipality.
“I’m in Gimli frequently,” said Damm, who lives outside town. “I welcome people to speak with me about community concerns.”
Samantha Hampton, the president of the Gimli Chamber of Commerce, said Damm served as a liaison between the municipality and the chamber, and they worked together on a couple of business-focused events.
“We thank him for his time serving the community and wish him well moving forward,” said Hampton, who is in her second term leading the chamber.
When she heard the news that Damm had resigned and saw some social media posts, Hampton said she sought clarity with regard to the speculation — and she encourages others to do the same.
“Coun. Damm’s resignation has understandably left many in the community with questions including myself. Over the past weeks, social media speculation has grown, which often happens when people feel that they don’t have the full picture,” she said. “If this were a one-off with the full story on the table, it would be easier to accept. But when news headlines continue to reference suspensions, resignations and investigations without clear explanations, people naturally start filling in the blanks and that’s not healthy for any municipality.”
The Express has inquired after numerous resignations of senior leadership at the RM, including chief administrative officers, that occurred since the new iteration of council took office after the 2022 election. The municipality replied consistently that it was unable to share details as those are considered private personnel matters.
But a lack of detail has likely created a perception of instability.
And Hampton said business thrives when there’s confidence in leadership.
“From a business and chamber perspective, transparency and stability matter. Businesses thrive when communities feel informed, connected and confident in their leadership,” said Hampton. “My hope is that the municipality takes an honest look at the tone of community conversations right now and considers how communication and transparency from leadership shape that climate. Clear, consistent information builds trust, reduces speculation and helps keep communities focused on moving forward together.”
The Express reached out to another council member to see if they’d offer comment on Damm’s resignation.
The Express asked the RM and council if there was any impropriety or rules broken around former interim CAO Valorie Unrau and the hiring of D.J. Simundson as CAO, and if there was any impropriety or rules broken around the process of the suspension of the mayor.
The paper also asked for a copy of the investigation report into the mayor and if council could say what he did.
Coun. Thora Palson spoke with the Express, saying the [short] answer to all four questions is “No.”
But she added that with regard to the suspension of the mayor, council was “guided by a lawyer with expertise in code of conduct investigation.”
The RM is unable to share a copy of the investigative report because it is bound by legislative requirements.
Manitoba’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) “require municipalities to protect the confidentiality of personnel‑related investigations, personal information and records containing legal advice,” said Palson. “As a result, the full investigation report and related cost details cannot be released publicly. These records fall under mandatory exceptions to disclosure that apply to personal information about an identifiable individual (FIPPA s.17), information harmful to a public body’s financial or legal interests (FIPPA ss.23–25) and records subject to solicitor‑client privilege (FIPPA s.25).”
With regard to what the mayor did that resulted in his suspension, Palson said “council is satisfied that all concerns raised during the investigation can be addressed with improved policy and training.”
She shared details of the approved training program, which will be delivered in March and will address the following:
A. Governance & Role Clarity Training – strengthening the separation between political oversight and administrative operations.
B. Respectful Workplace & Psychological Safety Training – addressing behaviours that contribute to workplace toxicity.
C. Ethical Leadership & Duty-to-Act Training – equipping council to intervene appropriately.
She said she’s reflecting on the recent issues and sees this as an opportunity to strengthen the organization.
“I always see the positive side of things,” said Palson. “This is an opportunity in which we can rebuild and repair the organization and create a sustainable environment and attract people to be part of our organization.”
The RM has been trying to inform the public about issues, she said, but reiterated that personnel matters are confidential and discussed in in-camera sessions.
“In camera is part of an oath of office that we councillors take to keep the matters discussed in-camera confidential,” she said.
