London, Ont.’s, new city council has been sworn in.
Councillors each took a Declaration of Office during a ceremony held at RBC Place on Tuesday evening, just over three weeks after the city held its municipal election.
That night in October saw eight new faces elected to council, with two-term Ward 7 councillor and former deputy mayor Josh Morgan elected as London’s 65th mayor.
Following the declarations, Ann Bigelow, daughter of former mayor Jane Bigelow, carried out the Investiture of the Mayor’s Chain of Office, which saw her place the ceremonial collar around Morgan’s neck.
“Josh, I hope you are as successful at this job and enjoy it as much as Jane did,” Bigelow said in front of a crowd of about 200 attendees.
“And I hope that 50 years from now, your children are being approached by people who remember the service you provided to the city in a positive light.”
In his inaugural address as London’s mayor, Morgan called for unity and collaboration among his council colleagues.
“We are a group of 15 individuals, 15 Londoners of various ages, races, religions, genders, sexualities, political ideologies. We come from different parts of the city, different parts of the country, different parts of the world. These differences are our strengths,” Morgan said.
“Yet, for all of these differences, I truly believe that there is more that unites this council than divides it.”
Morgan spoke to the shared priorities that informed each councillor’s campaign such as “affordable housing, mental health and addictions, the state of downtown, climate change, inclusivity and safe neighbourhoods.”
“It’s exceptionally rare, in any political contest, that there is near-unanimous agreement on the issues. Where we will differ is on the solutions, but that’s what excites me most about this council,” Morgan added.
“Our task, our responsibility and our collective challenge is to determine the most effective solutions.”
The next order of business in council’s inaugural meeting saw Ward 2 Coun. Shawn Lewis, who is now in his second term, appointed London’s deputy mayor, with a term lasting until 2026.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lewis said a key priority in his new role will involve him “finding the strengths of the council team and helping them realize those strengths and realize results for their wards.”
“Finding out where our common ground is that we campaigned on, helping the mayor identify those first few things that we can get done quickly and build that team,” Lewis said.
Ward 12 Coun. Elizabeth Peloza, who is also in her second term on council, was named budget chair, a role she held during the previous council.
She’ll play an integral role in the city’s upcoming financial planning, with an annual budget update set to begin before the end of 2022. Council will then begin to develop London’s next four-year multi-year budget in early 2023.
“It’s nice to have the certainty (of budget chair) this early in the council term, which we haven’t done in the past, as new councillors were already approaching me asking questions,” Peloza told Global News.
Councillors are set to meet again at city hall on Wednesday to sit as the strategic priorities and policy committee.
The political group’s next session as city council will be held on Nov. 22, where councillors are expected to confirm appointments for committees and advisory boards.
London’s 2022-2026 city council:
- Mayor: Josh Morgan
- Ward 1 Councillor: Hadleigh McAlister
- Ward 2 Councillor and Deputy Mayor: Shawn Lewis
- Ward 3 Councillor: Peter Cuddy
- Ward 4 Councillor: Susan Stevenson
- Ward 5 Councillor: Jerry Pribil
- Ward 6 Councillor: Sam Trosow
- Ward 7 Councillor: Corrine Rahman
- Ward 8 Councillor: Steve Lehman
- Ward 9 Councillor: Anna Hopkins
- Ward 10 Councillor: Paul Van Meerbergen
- Ward 11 Councillor: Skylar Franke
- Ward 12 Councillor and Budget Chair: Elizabeth Peloza
- Ward 13 Councillor: David Ferreira
- Ward 14 Councillor: Steve Hillier
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