LETHBRIDGE, Alberta (AP) - The city has hired a lawyer in its bid to remove from office an alderwoman accused of making up a story that she was abducted and raped while on business in Montana.
Mayor Bob Tarleck said the city isn't waiting to see if Dar Heatherington voluntarily resigns before it applies to court for her removal. A lawyer is "presently engaged in this case," Tarleck said.
The City Council asked Tarleck last week to send Heatherington a letter asking for her resignation. Councilors also voted to seek a court order if she didn't do that.
"We have been attempting to deliver a letter to her and we have been unable to do that," Tarleck said. "We have been unable to find her."
Heatherington, who did not attend the council meeting, has no intention of quitting and declared her innocence in a letter to council.
"Until I have exhausted every process available to me to prove my innocence, I will continue to fill my role as an alderman for the City of Lethbridge, regardless of how limited council tries to make that position," she wrote.
Heatherington disappeared last year while in Great Falls on city business, later surfacing in Las Vegas. She said she had been abducted and raped, allegations that Great Falls police said she later recanted. They charged her with giving false information, but two weeks later agreed to drop the charge if she stayed out of trouble and sought psychiatric help.
Heatherington made more headlines upon her return, when Lethbridge police accused her of writing lurid letters to herself and blaming them on a stalker. She was found guilty of public mischief in that case last month and will be sentenced Sept. 10.
Under Alberta law, such a conviction can disqualify her from serving on the City Council. Her attorney said he believes that is not certain.
Although Heatherington has yet to receive the mayor's letter, Tarleck argued it was still prudent to proceed with a court application so the city can deal with the issue as quickly as possible.
