Mayoral candidate David Soknacki says the Toronto Police Services board should hold off on hiring a new chief of police until after the municipal election at the end of October.
In a press release issued Thursday, Soknacki said it would be “premature” to begin the search process for a successor to Bill Blair now, given that the outcome of the election “could influence the criteria set for hiring a new chief.”
Soknacki also noted that with two of seven board members currently seeking re-election and another retiring, the board would risk having to restart the process in November if it were to begin the search now.
The TPS board is made up of three members appointed by the province, the mayor of Toronto or a designate, two members of city council and a city resident appointed by council.
Only three of the seven current board members have terms that extend past Dec. 31, 2014.
“The Board has full jurisdiction over the selection of a chief, and Chair Alok Mukherjee has full jurisdiction to lead the selection process but that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate to exercise that authority without sensitivity to the situation at city hall,” Soknacki said.
The board announced on Wednesday that it would not renew Blair’s contract and would “now begin to take the necessary steps” as it embarked on an open search for a successor.
Though the timeline for that search is not known, a replacement would have to be in place before Blair’s final day on the job on April 25.
“My first impulse would be to roll it over to the new administration,” Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly said of the search on Thursday. “We are coming to the end of this four-year term and I think the board that would be formed next year should be the board that would make that decision as they are the ones who would have to deal with the new chief.”
Soknacki and Kelly’s call for patience in launching the search isn’t without precedent.
In Guelph, the chair of the police services board recently cited the upcoming election as a factor in moving slowly in the search for a replacement for Chief Bryan Larkin.
Asked for his thoughts on the matter Thursday, Mayor Rob Ford declined to discuss the timeline of the search or specific candidates he’d like to see considered but noted he wants someone who will “find efficiencies” in the role.
“I hope the TPS board literally searches right across North America and whoever is most qualified should get the job,” Ford said. “Where they are from, male or female, to me it doesn’t matter. As long as they are qualified and as long as they are obviously going to find the efficiencies and at the end of the day keep our city safe, that’s it.”
Some of the candidates rumoured to be in the running include Deputy Chiefs Mark Saunders, Peter Sloly and Mike Federico as well as Barrie Police Chief Kimberley Greenwood and Niagara Police Chief Jeffrey McGuire.
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