The saga involving a Chatham-Kent councillor’s Facebook photo of a toy General Lee car on his mantel has taken the next step, as an official complaint has now been launched with the municipality.

Local resident Craig McNeill, who made the complaint regarding South Kent Coun. Trevor Thompson, said he’s unsure whether or not it will become an integrity commissioner investigation but thought he needed to start the process after no action was taken.

“It would have been a whole lot easier on everybody if my advice was listened to and we just erased that photo from Facebook,” McNeill told The Daily News on Saturday.

Thompson initially posted a photo in February of railway spikes from his time in the Yukon and souvenir ammunition shells from Chatham-Kent Flight Fest, with the toy General Lee visible in the background to the left.

He received a complaint at the time via a private message from McNeill, who noted the Confederate flag on the roof of the famed Dukes of Hazzard car was inappropriate.

Thompson declined to take down the image, noting his mantel was simply a collection of personal items.

When asked about the public reaction, McNeill admitted that most people disagree with him pursuing the complaint.

However, he said others still believe he has a valid concern that the flag is highly offensive in any context.

McNeill added he’s willing to cover any costs if it’s deemed his complaint has no merit.

“I told the clerk I’d pay for it if it’s not the right thing,” he said. “I don’t want to spend much more time on this. I don’t want to spend any more time on it. If there’s no merit in the eyes of the integrity commissioner, I’m hoping someone on council will put a motion forward about hate messages and hate imagery.”

McNeill stressed he doesn’t believe Thompson is a racist, but called the image ill-advised and unbecoming of a politician.

Thompson recently reposted the picture on Facebook, asking for feedback as to whether or not the General Lee was acceptable in this day and age. The majority of commenters wrote they thought there was nothing wrong with photo.

Speaking to The Daily News on Monday, the councillor said he was hopeful any investigation – should one occur – would reach the same conclusion.

“I look forward to being exonerated, truth be told,” Thompson said. “The complaint in my mind is completely extraneous.”

The councillor said he’s a big supporter of the area’s black history and no way supports the Confederacy.

McNeill said Confederate imagery is being phased out in American culture and added there are car shows now where the General Lee is displayed without the flag on the roof.

However, noting that depictions of the original General Lee can be found everywhere, Thompson added he believes such a complaint is also counterproductive to what McNeill hopes to accomplish.

“I’m really disappointed that you take such an important issue like racism and trying to make this a welcoming community, and this is the sort of thing that gets drummed up,”Thompson said. “I think it actually hurts the broader issue.”

Chatham-Kent’s formal complaint procedure notes that “if the integrity commissioner is of the opinion that the referral of a matter to him or her is frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith, or that there are no grounds or insufficient grounds for an investigation, the integrity commissioner shall not conduct an investigation or shall terminate the investigation if it becomes apparent in the course of an investigation.”

Thompson said McNeill has every right to make the complaint, and it will be up to the integrity commissioner to decide whether it moves ahead.

“Clearly he feels passionate about it. I still believe he’s wrong,” he said.

tterfloth@postmedia.com

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