TTC board member quits for provincial role
Maureen Adamson was one of only two women on board
A citizen member of the TTC board has abruptly resigned. Maureen Adamson sent board chair Josh Colle her resignation by email Monday, the Star has learned, after taking a job as Ontario’s deputy minister of tourism, culture and sport.
Her resignation is effective immediately, said Colle. Her term was to end Dec. 31and Colle said he hopes to appoint a replacement as soon as possible.
Adamson told the Star she decided to leave the board so she could devote herself to her role at the ministry, which she began April 11. Although she said a provincial official determined that her serving on the board while also being a deputy minister would pose no conflict of interest, Adamson was concerned about the perception of dual loyalties.
“I would rather be in a position to completely do my job as deputy 100 per cent than to have to recuse myself from any matters that could be integral to the province,” she said.
A former chief administrative officer at Women’s College Hospital, Adamson was one of four citizen members of the 11-member board. The other seven commissioners are city councillors. She was also one of only two women on the board and her resignation leaves Councillor Shelley Carroll as the sole female member.
Adamson, who served as vice-chair of the transit agency from 2012 to early 2015, wasn’t initially recommended by the city’s civic appointments committee for reappointment to the board in May 2015. But councillors added her name to the list after the Star reported on the lack of diversity in the committee’s initial picks, who were all men.
Asked Tuesday if she hoped a woman would take her place on the commission, Adamson said “100 per cent.”
“I think anyone who knows anything about good governance knows that skills are extremely important and gender balance and diversity are equally as important,” she said.
“Let’s face it, if you look at the composition of the board right now, it is largely middle-aged white males and Shelley Carroll and myself. So there’s a gap.”
Citizen board members receive compensation of $5,000 per year, plus a $450 per diem for attending each board meeting. With files from Tess Kalinowski