Before publicly admitting to an affair with Coun. Maureen Cassidy, and vowing to stay in office, Mayor Matt Brown told her that family pressures might force one of them to resign from city hall.

The conversation — occurring some time between late May, when the relationship blew up privately, and when it became public last week — further underscores the possibility one or both political careers may be doomed.

No matter what happens, one veteran political analyst who understands the lifestyle of mayors calls the Brown-Cassidy situation “a mess.”

“Why should she go?” asked ­Peter Woolstencroft, whose late wife was a Waterloo mayor. “I don’t see why any particular one should resign and I think the relationship on council has been ­contaminated.”

Brown has indicated he will return to office following a leave of absence. Cassidy, also on leave, has given no indication she will quit.

Confronted by The Free Press during the weekend, Cassidy confirmed the conversation with Brown took place but declined to discuss it. “I don’t want to talk any more to the press about this,” said Cassidy, who hadn’t spoken publicly since announcing last Tuesday she was quitting as deputy mayor and taking a leave as Ward 5 councillor. “It’s painful for my family.”

While there was an initial sense both could return to council

after their respective leaves ended, that may be impossible, both in a ­political sense, and in the context of workplace ­realities.

Brown, who has publicly said he believes it’s “entirely possible” he and Cassidy can continue working together, wouldn’t discuss the resignation matter with The Free Press.

Instead, his spokesperson, Ashton Patis, responded on his behalf.

She indicated he’s staying in office.

“Matt was very clear before he took his leave to be with his family, it is up to each individual to decide whether to continue in their roles,” Patis wrote in an email.

“I can confirm the mayor does not see any reason why she (Cassidy) should not return to work in the same way that he intends to.”

Ward 5 community leaders have called for Cassidy’s return.

Woolstencroft, a professor emeritus in the University of Waterloo’s political science department, said he can’t see a resolution that doesn’t include at least one resignation.

“Maybe, the best solution for them is to (both) resign and work on their marriages,” said the political scientist, whose late wife, Lynne Woolstencroft, was Waterloo mayor from 2000 to 2003.

Woolstencroft said he trusted his wife implicitly and says that’s vital for political spouses.

The mayor’s office is obviously a key cog in London’s political machinery. Its current state should be concerning to taxpayers.

Staff turnover has been high in the 18 months since Brown took over and switched it from an arm of city hall’s unbiased bureaucracy into a political entity more akin to an MP or MPP’s ­office.

Brown’s chief of staff, Corrine Rahman, is resigning.

Brown is gone for “the foreseeable future,” according to Coun. Paul Hubert, who’s serving as London’s acting mayor in the meantime.

Last Tuesday, Cassidy, 50, quit her deputy mayor post, then held an impromptu news conference at city hall in which she announced she was taking a leave as Ward 5 councillor following an affair with Brown, 43.

The mayor was set to make the relationship public and discuss it with media outlets Wednesday morning.

In the week since, neither has said much publicly. There’s nothing in Ontario’s Municipal Act that would compel either to resign, based on what’s known publicly to this point.

Among city councillors, there’s a clear sense of anger and disappointment with Brown and Cassidy. But there also seems to be a tinge of sympathy for her, though no such feeling toward him.

Council’s code of conduct states: “Members are expected to perform their duties in office and arrange their private affairs in a manner that promotes public confidence and will bear close public scrutiny.”

Cassidy was elected to city hall in 2014 with a convincing win in north-end Ward 5. With one term as ward councillor under his belt, Brown became mayor in ’14 in a relative landslide.

He ran on a platform that, in part, promised to restore integrity to the mayor’s office that was tarnished by the criminal conviction and resignation of predecessor Joe Fontana.

Cassidy was appointed one of council’s two deputy mayors by her colleagues. She and Brown worked closely together on a number of issues, including the city’s rapid transit plans.

pmaloney@postmedia.com

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