Reconsideration, interviews, and months of delay end with same result — Ryan Gauss appointed to police board
It ended where it began — after months of indecision over filling a vacant seat on the London Police Services Board (LPSB).
On Tuesday, city council was tasked with appointing one person from a list of five finalists who were recently interviewed as part of a lengthy selection process that included a highly publicized do-over.
Susan Toth resigned from the police board in January.
In March, a council committee selected Ryan Gauss from a list of 54 candidates.
Many Londoners, including Toth, expressed concern about the selection because it would leave just one member on the seven-person board from a diverse background.
Under pressure, council referred the process back to the committee for a new process that would select five finalists for interviews.
The five finalists were:
- Gita Canaran - A trauma therapist and clinical psychologist who focusses on the treatment of first responders
- Ryan Gauss - Director of operations and personnel for MP Peter Fragiskatos, 2022 campaign manager for Mayor Josh Morgan, worked 10 years in a civilian role with RCMP
- Joseph Wabegijig - Executive director of Atlohsa Family Healing Services, served on one of Ontario’s largest First Nations police boards, former senior policy advisor to the federal government
- Stephen D’Amelio - Former president of Pride London who re-engaged relationship between the LGBTQ2S+ community and London Police Service
- Michele Anderson - Associate director of student experience-academic support and engagement at Western University and Vice Chair of the Inter-University Disabilities Issues Association of Ontario
Interviews were conducted on June 5.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, the selection process required eight votes to nominate a single candidate for a final vote by council.
Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, who in March had supported Gauss, said the interviews convinced him to now rank Stephen D Amelio his first choice.
“We have a young, Black man from the LGBTQ2S+ community who has put his name forward at a time when the LGBTQ2S+ community itself is under attack,” he said.
Coun. Steve Lehman supported Gauss, “I really, truly believe Mr. Gauss will represent those diverse groups with fervour.”
The result of the first round of voting in the selection process:
- Ryan Gauss - 7 votes (Cuddy, Stephenson, Pribil, Lehman, Van Meerbergen, Peloza, Hillier)
- Stephen D Amelio - 6 votes (Morgan, Lewis, Franke, McAlister, Trosow, Rahman)
- Joseph Wabegijig - 2 votes (Hopkins, Ferreira)
- Gita Canaran - 0 votes
- Michele Anderson - 0 votes
The candidates who received the three lowest vote totals were dropped for a second round selections.
Before debate resumed, Coun. Anna Hopkins stood up and told the mayor she was leaving the meeting until the final appointment was in front of council for approval.
That left 14 councillors for the second selection round — and the realistic possibility of a tie.
Ferreira stood up and expressed his support for Gauss, presumably ending the process as the required eighth vote.
However, when the second round was tallied, it was a 7-7 tie because Coun. Steve Hillier had switched his vote to Stephen D Amelio.
Coun. Hopkins did not return to settle the tie, so the mayor consulted with the city clerk about the next step.
A tie first requires another vote to confirm that council is deadlocked, then the winning name would be pulled from a hat.
But the confirmation vote saw Hillier switch his support back to Ryan Gauss, giving him the necessary eight votes to conclude the selection process.
Hopkins returned to the meeting in time for the formal vote by council to confirm Gauss’s appointment (13-4) to the London Police Services Board.
Hopkins later explained to CTV News London that after Wabegijig was eliminated she was uncertain who to support.
“Folks in the community, whether they agree with the appointment we make at the end of the day or not, recognize that we went an extra mile to address the concerns we heard,” said Lewis.
The mayor added that council’s Governance Working Group is expected to provide recommended improvements to council’s appointment process to agencies, boards, and commissions.
“The process we used the first time around was very flawed. I’ll tell you why it was flawed, because it doesn’t allow us to communicate enough information with each other,” said Morgan.
The next scheduled meeting of the police board is Sept. 21.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Box tree moths have infested Ontario and experts say more are coming. Here's what to do to protect your garden
An invasive moth species is on the rise in Canada and, if you've planted a certain shrub, it could stand to ruin your garden.
Lyon-bound Air Canada Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner from Montreal turns back midflight due to pressurization alert
Passengers heading from Montreal to Lyon, France on Friday were forced to return home and depart the next day after a pressurization indication was detected in flight.
$500K-worth of elvers seized at Toronto airport
Fishery and border service officers seized more than 100 kilograms of unauthorized elvers at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Wednesday.
B.C. pipeline company argues its 'haulers' are not trucks, for tax purposes
A contractor working on the Coastal GasLink pipeline has been denied more than $333,000 worth of tax rebates because pieces of machinery it purchased – and claimed were not trucks – were deemed sufficiently truck-like in B.C. Supreme Court.
VIA Rail service delayed for hours due to suspicious package investigation in Kingston, Ont.
VIA Rail service resumed in the Kingston, Ont. area late Saturday afternoon, after a suspicious package investigation halted train service for more than four hours over the Victoria Day long weekend.
Usyk beats Fury by split decision, becomes undisputed heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years.
The eight most expensive homes for sale in Ottawa this spring
Ottawa's ultra luxury housing market is blooming like the tulips this spring, with a significant increase in the number of homes sold worth more than $2 million.
To plant or not to plant? Gardening tips for May long weekend
May long weekend is finally here, and with the extra time off you may be getting the itch to head out to your garden and plant. However, the old debate whether you should plant now, or wait, is still ever-present.