Former Saint John Common Councillor John Ferguson has begun to be cross examined at his defamation trial.
Ferguson told the court he knew it was a long shot when he ran for Mayor in 2008 but felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders when he lost because of the pension plan's financial problems. The court was also told the Pension Board put a lien on Ferguson's home in the city and that's why he and his wife decided to move away.
He's now the Town Manager in St. Stephen.
Lawyer Barry Morrison for the Pension Board questioning Ferguson about his math skills, asking him to multiply 52 times 11 and accused him of craving attention.
Morrison questioned Ferguson about the Free Ferguson tee shirt making the rounds and about rallies being held in his support. Ferguson testified he has no knowledge of either and denies being a publicity hound.
He also told the court no one asked him to serve on the Pension Board. Morrison suggested if he had, this media circus could have been avoided to which Ferguson replied there were some members of the Pension Board who didn;t know what was going on prior to 2003.
Ferguson testified Common Council had no real information about the city's pension plan while the deficit was rising. That's why he wanted a committee formed with broad representation. He maintains that would have shown the wider community that best practices would be brought to bear on the problem. Pension Board lawyer Barry Morrison suggested it was an effort to set up a shadow pension board but Ferguson replied he wanted to find a solution after first identifying what the problem was.
