City council has voted to appoint John Fyfe-Millar as London, Ont.’s, Ward 13 councillor, but will take a different approach when it comes to filling Ward 6.
Tuesday’s council meeting largely focused on next steps for the two wards, which were left vacant after its former councillors had taken on roles that would not allow them to continue serving on council.
For Ward 6, Phil Squire had been appointed to the Consent and Capacity Board, a provincial tribunal that deals with matters related to medical consent.
For Ward 13, Arielle Kayabaga ran a successful federal campaign that saw her elected as Member of Parliament for London West.
While Kayabaga had been on a leave of absence since her campaign began and it was known that a win would see her leave council, Squire’s departure came as a shock as he had only learned of his appointment to the board in early October before informing council days later.
First up for discussion was Ward 13.
Two weeks prior, the corporate services committee had endorsed having Fyfe-Millar, who was the runner-up to Kayabaga in London’s 2018 election, appointed to the vacant seat.
During Tuesday’s meeting, a motion from Ward 4 Coun. Jesse Helmer and Ward 5 Coun. Maureen Cassidy sought to refer the discussion to a future meeting of the strategic priorities and policy committee. Their intent was to allow council to deal with both ward vacancies at the same time and in the same way.
“Going into this meeting, a number of residents said, ‘Don’t even bother trying to convince people, it’s obvious what’s going to happen,’ and I said I’m going to give it one more try,” said Helmer.
“We can take our time and do this the same way for both these positions, or we can rush ahead and just kind of put our head down and be very stubborn about it.”
“If we do it right, then we can have both of these vacancies filled … in mid-November,” Cassidy added.
Supporters of the motion wanted to see council take a pause before deciding on the ward vacancies.
Mayor Ed Holder disagreed with delaying the discussion, but agreed with the desire to fill both vacancies at the same time and in the same way.
He added that if council decided to appoint Fyfe-Millar to Ward 13, he would support appointing Mike Bloxam to Ward 6, who was the runner-up to Squire in the 2018 election.
Cassidy and Helmer’s motion was ultimately shot down by a vote of 6-7, meaning it failed to garner enough support.
What followed was nearly 45 minutes of councillors going back and forth on whether or not to appoint Fyfe-Millar as London’s next Ward 13 councillor.
Helmer said it was a “tremendous mistake” to only consider Fyfe-Millar for the seat due to him finishing second to Kayabaga in the election.
“Especially when we have no sense of whether this person wants to run again in 2022, in which case they would be carrying an unearned incumbent advantage, which we would be giving them by appointing them,” said Helmer, voicing a concern shared by fellow councillors who shared his view on the matter.
“I’ve never been so disappointed, honestly. I said when I left the deputy mayor’s chair, ‘I think the best is yet to come for our council.’ I was wrong.”
Cassidy made note of the time that has passed since the 2018 election, asking her colleagues whether Ward 13 voters would “still have picked that person as their second choice.”
“We have every reason to believe that people would’ve changed their minds,” said Cassidy.
“In Ward 5, there was a close election. The second-place candidate has, since that election, been charged by the Ontario Provincial Police for violating the Municipal Elections Act in the last election. Would this council therefore endorse that second place finisher to sit in Ward 5 if I had to vacate the seat for some reason?”
Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan said Ward 13 had a close election between Kayabaga and Fyfe-Millar, which he finds important to note when considering a runner-up to fill a vacant seat.
He also praised Fyfe-Millar as someone who is “experienced and accessible,” citing his work on municipal boards and commissions.
“To me, there are many things that point to this individual as not just someone who did have a close election result, but someone who is actually ready to go and genuinely cares about downtown,” Morgan said.
“Whether or not he runs in the next election, that’s completely up to him in my opinion. We can’t force someone to run or not run.”
Ward 2 Coun. Shawn Lewis added that London was in a unique position by having access to ranked ballot data from the 2018 election that could lend insight into the second choice of voters.
“When we think about that data point in time, not only was it close, but 26 per cent of Coun. Kayabaga’s voters also ranked Mr. Fyfe-Millar on their ballot,” said Lewis, adding that desires for re-election shouldn’t rule out an appointee.
“After three terms of councillors in Ward 13 seeking to leave for higher office, the voters in that ward might just want an opportunity to return somebody who wants to stick around and continue to do the job.”
Council voted 7-6 to appoint Fyfe-Millar to Ward 13.
Those who voted yes included Mayor Ed Holder, Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan, Ward 1 Coun. Michael van Holst, Ward 2 Coun. Shawn Lewis, Ward 8 Coun. Steve Lehman, Ward 10 Coun. Paul Van Meerbergen and Ward 14 Coun. Steve Hillier.
The new Ward 13 councillor will be sworn in on Wednesday.
The discussion on next steps for Ward 6 was much shorter, and began with an amendment from Helmer that sought to refer the talk to a future meeting, similar to what he and Cassidy proposed for Ward 13.
The amendment would implement an application process that requires applicants to write a pair of written statements, one explaining why they want to represent Ward 6 and another that shares their experience and qualifications.
Applicants will also have to indicate whether or not they plan on seeking re-election, although the amendment emphasizes that council cannot prevent someone from running.
The amendment was approved by a vote of 12-1, with Holder serving as its lone opponent.
The matter will now be discussed at a future meeting of the strategic priorities and policy committee.
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