The mayor’s office first delayed, and then rushed, city staff’s vetting process for possible citizen appointees and tried to blunt city-mandated efforts to make the talent pool ethnically diverse, Fiona Crean wrote in her report released Thursday.
Other interference included the mayor’s office ordering staff to put recruitment ads only in only the Toronto Sun and the National Post, not the Toronto Star even though it is the most read newspaper in the GTA.
When staff prepared a draft recruitment ad, the mayor’s office asked them to remove part about encouraging applications from diverse communities. Staff refused.
The report, “An investigation into the administration of the public appointments policy,” also describes a meeting in which an unnamed city councillor chairing the civic appointments panel became angry at city staff for pointing out a favoured applicant’s apparent conflict of interest.
“Attendees reported that the panel chair pointed at staff saying, ‘I’m going to get you.’ He was reported to say in a raised voice that staff had other councillors fooled, but not him. Some staff described the panel chair’s manner as ‘threatening.’ One staff described the process as “gruelling and humiliating.”
The councillor, whom the Star has learned was Giorgio Mammoliti (Ward 7, York West), told Crean he was frustrated at the Nov. 16, 2011 meeting by the process and he felt “intimidated” by city staff there to provide support.
Crean subpoenaed some witnesses and interviewed all under oath.
The civic appointments committee, is chaired by Ford ally and council speaker Councillor Frances Nunziata.
She said in an interview Thursday that she had not read the report but her staff had relayed key points and quotes. She accepts the ombudsman’s six recommendations for change but said she is unaware of any problems.
“I'm not aware of any direction or interference by the mayor's office or committee members in the recruitment process,” she said, after the Star asked her about the newspaper ads and other examples cited by Crean.
“I believe that the committee did a wonderful job.”
Nunziata (Ward 11 York South-Weston) did recall Mammoliti becoming “frustrated” with staff at the Nov. 16, 2011 meeting but not him saying “I’m going to get you,” or any other comments.
Mammoliti has not responded to the Star’s interview request but told Global News on Thursday he did not make that comment, and that city staff are trying to blame the administration for their own failures in the selection process.
In a statement accompanying the release of her report, Crean states the agencies have a “considerable impact on residents’ lives” and Torontonians “must be assured board members are selected in a fair and open process.
“Unfortunately, in late 2011 and early 2012, after instructions from the mayor’s office to speed up the process, city staff were not given the time, support or necessary resources to properly fulfill the provisions of the Public Appointments Policy while they carried out the directions,” Crean wrote.
“Staff did the best they could, but their ability to carry out their responsibilities under the Public Appointments Policy was compromised.”
Council appoints members to 120 agencies, boards and commissions. Crean wrote that the arm’s-length bodies “have a substantial impact on the city’s operations”, and are responsible for one-third of city spending and employ almost half of city staff.
In August, the Star published a story suggesting Ford’s office had taken “an unprecedented interest in the (civic appointments) process,” and quoted some councillors as saying the mayor’s office and his council allies appeared to be stacking the agencies.
At the time, Councillor Frances Nunziata, chair of the civic appointments committee, and committee member Councillor Doug Ford angrily denounced the story, saying it was inaccurate and unfairly besmirched committee members and successful applicants.
Councillor Adam Vaughan, a staunch Ford critic, said he personally saw Pina Martino, a staffer in Ford’s office, hand out “cheat sheets” of Ford’s preferred candidates to councillors including Moeser.
Vaughan said Thursday he’s most disturbed by the mayor’s office’s efforts to limit diversity, noting the successful applicants ended up being overwhelmingly white able-bodied males, more so than in the past.
“It’s not about talent or merit; it’s about who you know and if the mayor approves of your views,” Vaughan said. “It’s cronyism and it’s not acceptable in a public hiring process using taxpayers’ dollars.”
Original Article
Source: the star
Author: David Rider Paul Moloney
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