Unity in police force evident in vote result

Saunders, unanimous winner as city’s new police chief, left mayor ’very impressed’

When Mayor John Tory took office, he singled out the deteriorating relationship between the police service, the board that oversees it and the community they serve as demanding of his immediate attention.

After placing himself on the board, Tory say down with the six other members on Friday to hash out their second biggest decision of the year: Who was best suited to lead that service as it attempts to remake itself in the public’s eyes.

Hoping to send a strong message on leadership and avoid any close vote, there was a push by board members — holed up in the Royal Bank Plaza office of a hired search firm at Bay and Wellington Sts. — to stay late and come to an agreement that night.

Early on, it was unclear how difficult that task that might be, with strong advocacy on behalf of Deputy Chief Peter Sloly and more behindthe-scenes backing for his main competitor, Deputy Chief Mark Saunders.

The board’s consideration of the two Jamaican Canadians came on the heels of the adoption of a new carding policy amid ongoing criticism of racial profiling.

But by the end of the all-day discussion, with the sun barely set, the board came to a unanimous vote. Tory spoke to that unity from the podium at police headquarters on Monday next to a beaming Saunders in dress uniform.

Tory and outgoing city appointee Andy Pringle — a longtime adviser to the mayor and fishing partner of outgoing Chief Bill Blair, who took Saunders under his wing — were both “very impressed,” by Saunders, sources said.

It’s unclear where provincial appointees Dhun Noria, who supported Blair’s earlier bid for a contract extension, and Marie Moliner, who sat on the board’s sub-committee on carding that worked with Sloly on new policies, stood early on. The same is true for Councillor Chin Lee, who did not return a request for comment on Monday.

Board chair Alok Mukherjee, who in recent years has clashed with Blair, said he “cannot respond” to whether he favoured Sloly.

He said the decision was unanimous by Friday evening after “open” discussions.

Councillor Shelley Carroll, who was newly appointed to the board in December alongside Lee, said there should be no doubt in the board’s confidence in Saunders. Despite some members arriving with agendas, Carroll said they “dropped away” by the final interview.