A group of former London Police Services Board members are calling on city council to reconsider the pending appointment of Ryan Gauss to the police oversight board.
In a letter posted to social media Sunday night by former board chair Susan Toth, seven former LPSB members are asking the eight council members that voted in favour of Gauss to change their vote at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Gauss, an aide to Liberal London-North Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos who served as campaign manager for Mayor Josh Morgan in the 2022 election, was tentatively appointed by councillors during last Tuesday’s strategic priorities and policy committee meeting in a close 8-6 vote.
Among 54 total candidates, Gauss was one of three applicants to move on to a runoff election. The other two were Zeba Hashmi, a Muslim woman on multiple London-based boards and Muslim organizations, and Joseph Wabegijig, an Indigenous man currently serving on the Wikwemikong Tribal Police Services Board.
While the former board members do not deny the merits of Gauss’s qualifications, they argue with the current makeup of the oversight board, the person filling the seat left vacant by Toth following her resignation in January should bring a lived experience from a marginalized and overpoliced community on top of their qualifications.
Currently, the only board member with a diverse background is the new chair, Ali Chahbar.
In their letter to council, the former LPSB members say they should consider appointing someone that can bring “not just an extensive experience, but also brings an equity lens.”
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“We know that it may be easier to choose someone who runs in your circles, feels familiar, has access to you and can pick up the phone and call you. This is how systemic barriers work,” reads part of the letter.
The letter was co-signed by Toth, Jeff Schlemmer, Dr. Javeed Sukhera, Jesse Helmer, Matt Brown, Steven Turner and Vanessa Ambtman-Smith, all former LPSB members through a combination of mayoral, council and appointed positions.
In their letter, the signees note there has only been one Indigenous person to ever serve on the board (Ambtman-Smith), which was only for two years. While they do not name Wabegijig in the letter, the former members urged councillors to select someone with an Indigenous voice.
Speaking Monday, Turner, a former councillor for Ward 11, tells Global News the signees are not campaigning against any one person, but instead affirming their values that representation is important and essential on the police board.
“The community has been rather vocal in saying that this is important,” Turner said.
Turner added that with an Indigenous population and three First Nations neighbouring the city, the board should represent the diversity of the community.
“Our structures and our institutions reflect the communities we serve,” says Turner.
During last week’s SPPC meeting, Gauss received six votes in the first round of the runoff from the following members: deputy mayor Shawn Lewis, Steven Hillier, Paul Van Meerbergen, Steve Lehman, Peter Cuddy, Susan Stevenson and Jerry Pribil.
Wabegijig received six votes from Couns. Anna Hopkins, Hadleigh McAlister, Sam Trosow, Skylar Franke, David Ferreira and Corrine Rahman. Morgan voted for Hashmi – who also worked on Morgan’s 2022 campaign – and Coun. Elizabeth Peloza was absent.
After Hashmi was eliminated, Morgan voted for Gauss in the second round of the runoff, with all other votes staying the same, resulting in Gauss receiving the required eight votes.
In an official motion following the runoff votes, all councillors voted for Gauss to be nominated.
Speaking with Global News Monday, Morgan says his vote was about who was the best possible candidate for the position. When asked about potential conflicts with voting for persons who worked on his campaign team last fall, Morgan says he consulted with the city’s integrity commissioner ahead of time.
According to Morgan, since neither he nor Gauss stands to gain a monetary value from Gauss’s appointment and they have no financial relationship currently, Morgan was in the clear to vote for him.
“(The integrity commissioner) has directed me to be involved in the vote; I can’t duck it with a made-up conflict, there is no conflict and so it certainly puts me in an awkward position,” said Morgan, noting the same thing happened when Toth was set to be appointed to the board, as she has also worked on a campaign team for Morgan.
Morgan says that while he does not plan on voting against the SPPC recommendation to appoint Gauss Tuesday, he looks forward to hearing other council members’ thoughts on the subject.
The regular council meeting is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Tuesday.