Skip to main content
letter from n.s.

James Hetfield of U.S. rock band Metallica performs in Caracas on March 12, 2010.MIGUEL GUTIERREZ/AFP / Getty Images

Showing a phoenix-like ability to rise from the ashes, the music promoter at the heart of a scandal that shook Halifax City Hall was back this week with a new company and a new mega-concert.

That's great news for Metallica fans excited about seeing the veteran rockers do an outdoor show in downtown Halifax this summer. But it's less good for Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly, whose image took a hit this spring during revelations that public funds for years had been advanced secretly to the promoter.

The mayor's version of events was inconsistent and a senior bureaucrat ultimately accepted the blame for losses totalling $359,000.

Although the next municipal election isn't until the fall of 2012, an eternity in politics, the re-emergence of promoter Harold MacKay will be a constant reminder of the cloud hanging over the mayor.

Until now Mr. Kelly has shown admirable skills as a Teflon politician. He has governed the city since 2000 and easily beat back an anybody-but-Kelly movement to find a credible alternative before the last election. But his opponents will be licking their lips as the city counts down to the next vote.

Mr. Kelly's vulnerability was highlighted in a poll released this week by Metro Halifax. The free daily's survey, conducted by Marketquest-Omnifacts Research, showed that 42 per cent of city residents had a somewhat or greatly worsened opinion of the mayor. His approval rating slipped only slightly, though, within the poll's margin of error.

In a comment to the paper, Mr. Kelly said there was no doubt the concert issue was hurting him.

Halifax boosters have ground their teeth in recent years as Moncton emerged as a more desirable location for summer mega-concerts. And the extent to which some city officials were keen to reverse that trend became clear this spring.

It came to light that the city had been advancing money secretly to Mr. MacKay, the promoter of shows including Paul McCartney and KISS. The public funds were handed over and repaid out of ticket sales. But Mr. MacKay was unable to make good on most of a $400,000 advance given before a Black Eyed Peas concert last summer, money handed over when he threatened to cancel the event. His business went under in the fall, leaving the city on the hook.

The mayor initially said that everything had been vetted by the city's legal department. He later said legal services had no prior knowledge of the money. Councillors said they had no knowledge of the money flowing to Mr. MacKay. The city's auditor said the arrangement broke municipal rules.

Halifax chief administrative officer Wayne Anstey resigned. But Mr. Kelly has consistently said he did nothing wrong and refused repeated demands to step down.

For his part, Mr. MacKay this week confirmed the Metallica concert as "the right band this time." He seems thrilled to be promoting a big downtown concert again and was as optimistic as ever about the benefits to the city.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe