Mayor Matt Brown has been outflanked again — for the second time in days — by Coun. Maureen Cassidy in the fallout of an affair between the two that’s imperilled both their political careers.

As it becomes increasingly clear that one, or perhaps both, may have to resign from London city council in the fallout of the scandal, Brown again followed in Cassidy’s footsteps Friday as he announced he’s foregoing his pay cheque while on leave from the job.

Cassidy told city hall 24 hours earlier — sometime Thursday, officials said — that she didn’t want to be paid during the leave she, too, has taken.

Earlier this week, Cassidy boxed Brown in as the news of their affair was about to become public.

Brown planned to admit it to the media Wednesday morning.

Learning that, it’s believed, Cassidy attended Tuesday night’s council meeting — Brown was absent — and resigned as deputy mayor, though she not did quit council altogether.

Minutes later, in an impromptu news conference, she said she was taking a leave due to her and Brown’s affair.

In the immediate aftermath, there were hopes by some that Brown, 43, and Cassidy, 50, could both return to work on council after their leaves. Both can take up to three months off.

Brown has told The Free Press he believes that could happen.

But amid outside pressures, concerns from some on council and the perspective of city union leaders, it’s becoming harder to see how such a scenario could unfold.

“My problem is them working together,” said Steve Holland, president of Local 101 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) that represents city hall’s inside workers.

“I’m not sure how that can work. For me, they shouldn’t be working together.”

Holland also expressed frustration his union members would be at risk of getting fired for engaging in anything similar.

“We would be investigated, you would be disciplined or fired,” he said, noting employees are prohibited from “participating in any activity that negatively impacts the reputation of the corporation (city hall).”

While Brown’s office said Friday he will go without his pay while away, he wouldn’t respond to questions on an indirectly related matter.

He’s spending time with his family, a spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, a city councillor’s push for London’s ethics watchdog to probe the Brown-Cassidy scandal may be redundant, a fellow politician says.

Coun. Josh Morgan will next week ask his council colleagues to formally request that Gregory Stewart, city hall’s just-appointed integrity commissioner, probe whether council’s code of conduct was breached “by either of those two members of council.”

But is the request really necessary?

Coun. Jesse Helmer believes it’s already inevitable that Stewart — who doesn’t take marching orders from council — will launch an investigation.

“I think there will be one, whether we pass a motion or not,” Helmer said. “Based on what I know, I don’t know there’s going to be a whole lot new revealed.

“But whether council (requests one or not), there’s going to be an investigation.”

Stewart spoke with The Free PressFriday, one day after meeting with Brown in his advisory role. He wouldn’t divulge the nature of their discussion.

But the other half of Stewart’s job is investigating ethical issues. As an independent office, Stewart decides whether to launch a probe.

He said Friday he’s “still deciding what type of investigation” would be required here.

If a probe is launched, it would be his first in London — and almost certainly the biggest file he’s handled in a relatively brief time serving as integrity commissioner in smaller communities.

“I’m not concerned about my ability to do it,” Stewart said.

A lawyer based in Grand Bend, Stewart also addressed comments by him published in the Toronto Star, which quoted him as calling the Brown-Cassidy matter “trite.”

Stewart said he’s treating the matter seriously.

“I’m quite aware of how serious this is in the community,” he said. “Under no circumstances do I consider it trite.”

With Brown and Cassidy both on separate leaves of absence, Coun. Paul Hubert is London’s acting mayor for what he’s called “the foreseeable future.” One of the remaining 12 councillors should within days be voted in by their colleagues to fill Cassidy’s former deputy mayor spot.

Cassidy, 50, was elected to city council in 2014, winning north-end Ward 5 in a landslide.

Brown, 43, was elected mayor the same year, after one term on council. He won the mayoral race by a wide margin, running in part on a pledge to restore integrity to the mayor’s office following the scandal of predecessor Joe Fontana.

pmaloney@postmedia.com

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