London City Council

London City Council is the governing body of the city of London, Ontario, Canada.

Composition

London is divided into 14 wards, with residents in each ward electing one councillor. The mayor is elected citywide, who along with the councillors form a 15-member council.

2017 reform

In spite of some controversy about this move, London was the first city in Canada (in May 2017) to decide to move a ranked choice ballot for municipal elections starting in 2018. Voters will mark their ballots in order of preference, ranking their top three favourite candidates. An individual must reach 50 per cent of the total to be declared elected; in each round of counting where a candidate has not yet reached that target, the person with the fewest votes is dropped from the ballot and their second or third choice preferences reallocated to the remaining candidates, with this process repeating until a candidate has reached 50 per cent.[1]

2010 reform

Prior to the 2006 civic election, London's city council consisted of 14 councillors (two from each of the seven former wards), four members of Board of Control (elected citywide), and one mayor (elected citywide), to form a 19-member council.

The composition and structure of city council was the subject of two questions on the 2003 election ballot, an action initiated by Ward 3 Councillor Fred Tranquilli and his discussion paper, A Better Way, which proposed a smaller city council with 10 wards (one councillor per ward), plus the mayor elected citywide and the elimination of Board of Control for an 11-member city council.

While the yes votes prevailed, the overall voter turnout was less than 50 per cent and according to the provisions of the Municipal Act, the referendum results were not binding.

When council decided to maintain the status quo, a grassroots citizens' activism group, Imagine London, appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) to change the ward composition to 14 wards defined by communities of interest in the city, including a separate ward for the downtown core.

UWO law librarian and media professor Sam Trosow argued the case at the OMB for Imagine London arguing that smaller wards based on communities of interest would result in more "effective representation" for the electorate. This argument is based on a 1991 Supreme Court of Canada decision involving electoral boundaries in the Province of Saskatchewan (often cited as the "Carter" case).

The OMB ruled for the Imagine London petitioners in late December 2005 and while the city sought leave to appeal the OMB decision to Superior Court via a full-day hearing in January 2006, leave to appeal was denied when Justice McDermid released his decision on February 28, 2006.

In the 2006 municipal election, a number of candidates included in their platforms the abolition of Board of Control. Among them was Gina Barber, a member of Imagine London, who gained a seat on the board of control, coming in second only to the deputy mayor, Tom Gosnell.

Following the election, a task force composed of a number of councillors, controllers, and citizen representatives was established to make recommendations on governance. The task force held numerous meetings and public hearings. On the basis of its deliberations, it recommended that the board of control be abolished and its functions assumed by a combination of standing committees, delegation to staff and citizen groups and Committee of the Whole. The recommendations were placed before a public participation meeting and subsequently adopted by council in a vote of 14 to 5. Consequently, positions for Board of Control were not on the 2010 municipal ballot.

1994-1997

Council elected in the 1994 municipal election.[2]

Councillor	Office	Notes
Dianne Haskett	Mayor
Grant Hopcroft	Controller
Dawn Erskine	Controller
Vaughan Minor	Controller
Diane Whiteside	Controller
Sheila Davenport	Ward 1
Joe Avola	Ward 1
Joe Swan	Ward 2
Bob Beccarea	Ward 2
Bernie MacDonald	Ward 3
Betty Howard	Ward 3
Bill Armstrong	Ward 4
Bud Polhill	Ward 4
Anne Marie DeCicco	Ward 5
Gary Williams	Ward 5
Ben Veel	Ward 6
Megan Walker	Ward 6
Ted Wernham	Ward 7
Martha Joyce	Ward 7

1997-2000

Council elected in the 1997 municipal election.[3]

Councillor	Office	Notes
Dianne Haskett	Mayor
Anne Marie DeCicco	Controller
Orlando Zampronga	Controller
Russ Monteith	Controller
Diane Whiteside	Controller
Ab Chahbar	Ward 1
Sandy Levin	Ward 1
Rob Alder	Ward 2
Joe Swan	Ward 2
Bernie MacDonald	Ward 3
Fred Tranquilli	Ward 3
Bill Armstrong	Ward 4
Bud Polhill	Ward 4
Cheryl Miller	Ward 5
Gary Williams	Ward 5
Ben Veel	Ward 6
Megan Walker	Ward 6
Susan Eagle	Ward 7
Gord Hume	Ward 7

2000-2003

Council elected in the 2000 municipal election.[4]

Councillor	Office	Notes
Anne Marie DeCicco	Mayor
Gord Hume	Controller
Russ Monteith	Controller
Bud Polhill	Controller
Joe Swan	Controller
Ab Chahbar	Ward 1
Sandy Levin	Ward 1
Joni Baechler	Ward 2
Rob Alder	Ward 2
Bernie MacDonald	Ward 3
Fred Tranquilli	Ward 3
Bill Armstrong	Ward 4
Roger Caranci	Ward 4
Cheryl Miller	Ward 5
Gary Williams	Ward 5
David Winninger	Ward 6
Harold Usher	Ward 6
Susan Eagle	Ward 7
Ed Corrigan	Ward 7

2003-2006

Council elected in the 2003 municipal election.[5]

Councillor	Office	Notes
Anne Marie DeCicco	Mayor
Tom Gosnell	Controller
Gord Hume	Controller
Russ Monteith	Controller
Bud Polhill	Controller
Ab Chahbar	Ward 1
Judy Bryant	Ward 1
Joni Baechler	Ward 2
Rob Alder	Ward 2
Bernie MacDonald	Ward 3
Fred Tranquilli	Ward 3
Bill Armstrong	Ward 4
Roger Caranci	Ward 4
Cheryl Miller	Ward 5
Sandy White	Ward 5
David Winninger	Ward 6
Harold Usher	Ward 6
Susan Eagle	Ward 7
Paul Van Meerbergen	Ward 7

2006-2010

Council elected in the 2006 municipal election.[6]

Councillor	Office	Notes
Anne-Marie DeCicco-Best	Mayor
Gina Barber	Controller
Tom Gosnell	Controller
Gord Hume	Controller
Bud Polhill	Controller
Roger Caranci	Ward 1
Bill Armstrong	Ward 2
Bernie MacDonald	Ward 3
Stephen Orser	Ward 4
Joni Baechler	Ward 5
Nancy Ann Branscombe	Ward 6
Walter Lonc	Ward 7
Paul Hubert	Ward 8
Susan Eagle	Ward 9
Paul Van Meerbergen	Ward 10
David Winninger	Ward 11
Harold Usher	Ward 12
Judy Bryant	Ward 13
Cheryl Miller	Ward 14

2010-2014

Council elected in the 2010 municipal election.[7]

Councillor	Office	Notes
Joe Fontana	Mayor	Resigned on June 19, 2014 following a criminal conviction.[8]
Bud Polhill	Ward 1
Bill Armstrong	Ward 2
Joe Swan	Ward 3
Stephen Orser	Ward 4
Joni Baechler	Ward 5	Appointed interim mayor on June 25, 2014 after Fontana's resignation.[9]
Russell Monteith	Ward 5	Appointed as interim councillor for Ward 5 after Baechler's accession to the mayoralty.[10]
Nancy Ann Branscombe	Ward 6
Matt Brown	Ward 7
Paul Hubert	Ward 8
Dale Henderson	Ward 9
Paul Van Meerbergen	Ward 10
Denise Brown	Ward 11
Harold Usher	Ward 12
Judy Bryant	Ward 13
Sandy White	Ward 14

2014-2018

Council elected in the 2014 municipal election.[11]

Councillor	Office	Communities
Matt Brown	Mayor
Michael van Holst	Ward 1	Chelsea Green, Fairmont
Bill Armstrong	Ward 2	Pottersburg, Nelson Park, Trafalgar Heights
Mo Mohamed Salih	Ward 3	Huron Heights
Jesse Helmer	Ward 4	East London
Maureen Cassidy	Ward 5	Stoneybrook, Northdale, Northerest, Uplands
Phil Squire	Ward 6	Broughdale, University Heights, Orchard Park, Sherwood Forest
Josh Morgan	Ward 7	White Hills, Medway Heights, Masonville, Hyde Park
Paul Hubert	Ward 8	Oakridge Park, Oakridge Acres,
Anna Hopkins	Ward 9	Byron, Lambeth
Virginia Ridley	Ward 10	Westmount
Stephen Turner	Ward 11	Cleardale, Southcrest Estates, Berkshire Village, Kensal Park, Manor Park
Harold Usher	Ward 12	Glendale, Southdale, Lockwood Park, White Oak, Cleardale
Tanya Park	Ward 13	Downtown London, Blackfriars, Piccadilly/Adelaide, SoHo, KeVa, Woodfield, Oxford Park
Jared Zaifman	Ward 14	Glen Cairn Woods, Pond Mills, Wilton Grove, Glanworth

2018-2022

Council elected in the 2018 municipal election.

Councillor	Office	Communities
Ed Holder	Mayor
Michael van Holst	Ward 1	Hamilton Road, Chelsea Green, Fairmont, River Run, Glen Cairn
Shawn Lewis	Ward 2	Pottersburg, Nelson Park, Trafalgar Heights
Mo Mohamed Salih	Ward 3	Huron Heights
Jesse Helmer	Ward 4	East London
Maureen Cassidy	Ward 5	Stoneybrook, Northdale, Northerest, Uplands
Phil Squire	Ward 6	Broughdale, University Heights, Orchard Park, Sherwood Forest
Josh Morgan	Ward 7	White Hills, Medway Heights, Masonville, Hyde Park
Steve Lehman	Ward 8	Oakridge Park, Oakridge Acres,
Anna Hopkins	Ward 9	Byron, Lambeth
Paul Van Meerbergen	Ward 10	Westmount
Stephen Turner	Ward 11	Cleardale, Southcrest Estates, Berkshire Village, Kensal Park, Manor Park
Elizabeth Peloza	Ward 12	Glendale, Southdale, Lockwood Park, White Oak, Cleardale
Arielle Kayabaga	Ward 13	Downtown London, Blackfriars, Piccadilly/Adelaide, SoHo, KeVa, Woodfield, Oxford Park
Steve Hillier	Ward 14	Glen Cairn Woods, Pond Mills, Wilton Grove, Glanworth

City Halls

• 1928–1971: a four-storey building at the corner of Dundas Street and Wellington added to the Public Utilities Commission Building c. 1918; it is now a commercial building at 272-274 Dundas Street[12]
• 1971–present: located at 300 Dufferin Avenue, a 12-storey Modernist office block[12] built by local architect Philip Carter Johnson[13]

See also

• List of mayors of London, Ontario

References

1. "London, Ont., votes to become 1st Canadian city to use ranked ballots". CBC News Windsor, May 2, 2017.
2. "CITY OF LONDON MUNICIPAL ELECTION November 14, 1994" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-04-02.
3. "City of London, Ontario Municipal Election November 10, 1997" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-04-02.
4. "CITY OF LONDON MUNICIPAL ELECTION RETURNS NOVEMBER 13, 2000" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-04-02.
5. "CITY OF LONDON OFFICIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION RETURNS NOVEMBER 10.2003" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2014-05-29.
6. "CITY OF LONDON OFFICIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION RESULTS 2006" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-04-02.
7. "CITY OF LONDON OFFICIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION RESULTS OCTOBER 25, 2010" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-04-02.
8. "Joe Fontana officially resigns as mayor of London" Archived 2014-10-27 at the Wayback Machine. Toronto Sun, June 19, 2014.
9. "Baechler sworn in as interim London mayor" Archived 2014-10-30 at the Wayback Machine. CTV London, June 25, 2014.
10. "Russell Monteith joins London City Council on his 80th birthday" Archived 2014-10-30 at the Wayback Machine. Metro, June 25, 2014.
11. "CITY OF LONDON OFFICIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION RESULTS Oct 27, 2014" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-04-02.
12. "City Hall at Dundas and Wellington Streets, London, Ontario". images.ourontario.ca. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
13. "London, Ont.: Modernism showcase". Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2018 – via The Globe and Mail.

External links

• Official website