A St. Catharines regional councillor who is embroiled in controversy and on a leave of absence says he will be back when council sits in September.

Andy Petrowski has been on a leave of absence since May after a pornographic photo was sent from his government account but Thursday night he made a surprise visit to a council meeting, his first since his leave.

“I didn’t know he was coming, I didn’t know he was leaving.”

Councillor Bob Gale sits beside him during council meetings. “I said hi Andy how are you doing, he said fine and then later he said I’ll see you later take care of yourself and that was it.”

Petrowski took a personal leave of absence at the end of may after this pornographic image was emailed to over a hundred people from his government issued iPad. He quickly sent out an apology email, blaming someone else for sending it. Since then his access to his regional email account and devices have been suspended.

A local radio station is reporting Petrowski plans to return to council in September when it returns from break. We reached out to Petrowski, to no avail. The municipal act requires council to approve an absence longer than 90 days.

In June councillors voted to suspended Petrowski from committees and also undertake sensitivity training. In May Chair Alan Caslin refused to say if Petrowski was being paid while on leave.

The chair did not respond to our phone calls, but a spokesperson from his office says Caslin did not know Petrowski was coming to the meeting. Petrowski left the meeting without speaking, but he has been vocal on social media.