A motion to reconsider a lawsuit against former Niagara Region senior officials has been defeated and the conversation about allowing citizens to directly elect a regional chair will continue.
Regional council debated the two major issues during last night's meeting.
Niagara Falls councillor Peter Nicholson brought forward the motion to reconsider the lawsuit against several people involved in the tainted CAO hiring scandal but ultimately he was the only one who voted in favour of the idea.
Nicholson tried to convince councillors to go behind closed doors to discuss his reasoning before the vote, but Ford Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop advised against it citing persistent problems with leaks.
"How do we know that if we go into closed session the information that we discuss isn't going to become part of the next day's newspaper?"
Redekop voiced his frustration with recent leaks, reminding councillors they have a legal obligation to maintain confidentiality.
There was also quite a bit of debate around St. Catharines councillor Laura Ip's motion to allow residents to elect a regional chair instead of the current model where regional councillors select the chair.
A final decision was not made last night after Councillor Tom Insinna suggested moving the discussion to Corporate Services Committee.