As news of a sex scandal involving London's mayor and deputy mayor sinks in, one city councillor is reassuring Londoners that council will continue to move forward with its work.
Councillor Josh Morgan says he has no doubt that council will be able to pick up and carry forward on all of its strategic initiatives.
"Londoners need to know that council is going to be focused on achieving results for them," says Morgan. "Councils are defined in moments of crisis and this is certainly a crisis for the city. We have a mayor and a deputy mayor who have left their positions for a period of time and I have no doubt that we can be the council that this city elected. We can move forward and deliver results for them even in the face of great challenge."
On Tuesday, Mayor Matt Brown admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with Ward 5 Councillor Maureen Cassidy. His admission came after Cassidy resigned from her post as deputy mayor, also coming clean about the affair. Both Brown and Cassidy are married with children.
Morgan says it's too soon to say whether Brown should resign, noting it boils down to whether Londoners have lost confidence in his ability.
"Confidence is a very different thing than disappointment," says Morgan. "I think there is wide spread disappointment in the actions that have occurred. Whether or not that translated into confidence has yet to be determined."
Cassidy took a leave from her duties last week. It is unclear when she will return to council. In the meantime, councillors Morgan, Tanya Park, and Phil Squire are dividing the constituency work for the ward.
This is not the first time a London mayor has been involved in a scandal. Joe Fontana resigned as mayor in 2014 after he was found to have defrauded taxpayers during his time as an MP, Anne Marie DeCicco-Best's husband was convicted of impaired driving causing bodily harm during her time in office, and Dianne Haskett was fined by the Ontario Human Rights Commission for refusing to issue a Gay Pride proclamation.
"How council deals with this will define the city's perspective of them. If we stay focused, if we take the business of the city forward, if we ensure that we stay true to moving the strategic files, I think Londoners will see that council is highly effective, motivated, and can move the business of the city forward," says Morgan. "If we distract ourselves, if we make this our focus than we will fail. The consequences of this are going to come regardless of what council chooses to do or not to do in the next few weeks."
Brown is scheduled to meet with the city's newly hired integrity commissioner to discuss the scandal on Thursday.
