John Fyfe-Millar has been sworn in as the new city councillor for Ward 13 in London, Ont., but it will be some time before the vacant Ward 6 is filled.
On Tuesday, city council voted 7-6 to appoint Fyfe-Millar to the seat that was left vacant after former Coun. Arielle Kayabaga was elected to federal office.
Ward 6 was left vacant after former Coun. Phil Squire was appointed to a provincial tribunal that barred him from serving on council.
Fyfe-Millar says that while the way he reached municipal office is “in some ways bittersweet,” he’s excited for what’s next.
“I’ve always said I want good representation for this ward. I live here and I work here, and I think that’s something that I can give the people of Ward 13,” Fyfe-Millar told Global News prior to his swearing-in on Wednesday afternoon.
His goals for the ward include a revitalization of London’s downtown, with a focus on supporting small businesses who’ve been impacted by core construction and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our downtown is for all Londoners to come down and enjoy, and we want to make sure that that message is out there,” said Fyfe-Millar.
He also points to homelessness as another major issue affecting his ward, which he describes as “a challenge from both sides.”
“I think we have to be respectful of the fact that for Londoners who are facing homelessness right now, we need to do better,” said Fyfe-Millar.
A concern that came up during Tuesday’s council meeting was that Fyfe-Millar would be granted an incumbency advantage if he was appointed to Ward 13 and sought re-election.
Fyfe-Millar says he plans to run again in 2022, as he had planned to do after placing second in 2018, as he believes it grants voters the opportunity to hold him accountable.
Retired Western University professor Andrew Sancton, who has written extensively on local government, says the incumbency advantage won’t be a major factor in the next race for Ward 13.
“I expect whatever advantage Fyfe-Millar will have in the next election will derive from the fact that he ran twice before,” Sancton said.
“It’d be interesting to do an on-the-street interview in Ward 13, downtown, and ask how many people know who the incumbent councillor is, just after the appointment, and I doubt it’s going to be very many.”
Tuesday’s meeting saw a lively debate between councillors, tied in part to council taking up two different processes to fill two different wards.
Ward 4 Coun. Jesse Helmer said it was a “tremendous mistake” for council to only consider Fyfe-Millar before appointing Ward 13’s next councillor.
Sancton says the outcome seemed to be “pretty reasonable” given that Fyfe-Miller was a “very close second” to Kayabaga in the 2018 election.
“In Ward 6, there were only two candidates and the second candidate was not so close, so asking for applications to see who’s interested seems like a reasonable outcome to me,” Sancton said.
An early favourite for Ward 6 appears to be Mike Bloxam, the runner-up to the seat’s former councillor in the 2018 election.
On Tuesday, Mayor Ed Holder said he’d be ready to appoint Bloxam had council decided to fill the seat that night, a move that would follow what was done for Ward 13.
Bloxam said he was flabbergasted to see council appoint Fyfe-Millar to Ward 13, rather than pause to open up an application process to match what’s in place for Ward 6.
“It’s nothing against him, I just think there would’ve been others who may have wanted to be considered for Ward 13,” Bloxam told Global News.
“With the glowing reviews that (Fyfe-Millar) received from the councillors last night at the meeting, I expect he may have taken the seat anyways, so another two weeks wouldn’t have hurt things in Ward 13.”
The application process for Ward 6 will ask candidates if they plan on seeking re-election, although it emphasizes that council cannot prevent someone from running.
Bloxam says if he were elected, he would only serve the remainder of the current term.
“I don’t think it’s a great decision to have people appointed this close to election nominations opening in May, six months from now basically, and giving people that edge,” Bloxam said.
On top of the moral argument, Bloxam says running a full-fledged municipal campaign next year might not be in the best interest of his family.
“It would take a lot, at this point, to change my mind about running for council next year.”
The next steps for Ward 6 will be discussed at a future meeting of the strategic priorities and policy committee. Its next scheduled meeting is set for Nov. 9.
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