Deputy mayor needs to back up allegations of retaliation, say aggrieved councilors

All three have said they are furious over what they are accused of, but it just isn't true, they say. (Courtesy photos Berlin, Hainey, Beaudoin/Screenshot Lachapelle)

ROCHESTER - Rochester's deputy mayor has a lot of explaining to do, say three councilors who were accused of retaliatory behavior in the wake of the trial that removed Chris Rice from the board last May.
Deputy Mayor Pete Lachapelle singled out City Councilors Dana Berlin, Laura Hainey and Steven Beaudoin during a 10-minute tirade at last Tuesday's City Council workshop.
"We have a minority, three to be exact, that want to divide us, slow down government, make false accusations, and bring discord and chaos to the council," Lachapelle said.
While the trio weren't named, it's clear he is referring to two of the three who voted against Rice's removal - Hainey and Berlin - and Beaudoin who voted for his removal but later posted on social media that he wished he'd hadn't.
All three have said they are furious over what Lachapelle accused them of doing, but what baffles them the most is they have no clue of what they've done to deserve such censure.
"Where's the evidence," City Councilor Laura Hainey said on Saturday. "I don't know where they're coming from, and for them to say that is ludicrous."
After Lachapelle finished his comments a frustrated Hainey told him he'd just violated the city's newly enacted Code of Ethics policy - that he championed as chair of the codes and ordinance board - by publicly ridiculing fellow councilors without trying to correct their alleged behavior privately first.
"Yes, I'd be more than happy to meet with you, all of you," Lachapelle said.
"So why wasn't this done before this was read," Hainey fired back. "Why didn't you give people the courtesy of that?"
Lachapelle refused to answer, and after a few moments Callaghan said, "We're moving on."
Hainey said as of Wednesday, more than a week after the dustup, Lachapelle still had not reached out to her for that private meeting.
Hainey said Lachapelle's behavior during the workshop bordered on "narcissism," which is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance.
Berlin told The Rochester Voice on Saturday he was still reeling after the unexpected thrashing by the city's deputy mayor.
"I have been trying to wrap my head round that he said I had been retaliatory," he said. "I was baffled. I've been trying work on things to make the city better. I have not been vindictive. I'm trying to get things done."
If someone believes there's a problem, why aren't they coming to us ahead of time."
Berlin said when he voted not to remove Rice, he did it because he didn't think the trial was fair, but he put that behind him long ago.
"It's funny we take up so much space in their head," he said. "We've let it go, they haven't obviously."
Beaudoin, who early on made a motion to stop Lachapelle's rant, had it seconded by Berlin, but the mayor ignored it and told Lachapelle to continue.
Beaudoin said it was telling that Lachapelle had no evidence to back up his claims.
"Since he never identified any 'retaliatory actions,' and I can't think of any instances of any of us doing such a thing, it's truly hard to say who they were aimed at," he said. "Just more unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations."
The Rochester Voice reached out to Lachapelle by phone, which went straight to voicemail. A message left on Saturday has not been returned as of this article's posting.