Prof says Vaughan deputy mayor should step aside, council remains tight-lipped

Yorkregion.com
May 5, 2015
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Embattled Vaughan Deputy Mayor Michael Di Biase should vacate his office while he’s the subject of a police probe, but he doesn't have to and council can’t force him to do it either, says one political science professor.

“I think people in his position should step aside, but they are not compelled to do so,” said Andrew Sancton, a professor at Western University specializing in municipal government. “Members of council can only be removed from office, in these circumstances, if they are incarcerated,” he added.

Last Thursday, the OPP took over an investigation initially launched by York Regional Police. The provincial police probe is looking at city contracts signed during Di Biase’s 24 years in office, including his time in the mayor’s chair from 2002 to 2006 and, more recently, while a local and regional councillor.

The investigation is also examining the role veteran politician might have played in the city’s tendering process to secure municipal contracts for companies, including Maystar General Contractors, the firm that built Vaughan city hall.

Di Biase said Monday he is still considering whether or not he’ll step aside.

“I have made no decision and I will be meeting with my lawyer (to discuss it),” Di Biase said.

Maystar president Joe Maio has yet to respond to repeated requests for comment.

The majority of Di Biase’s council colleagues, meanwhile, have been tight-lipped since news broke of the police probe.

The Vaughan Citizen on Monday afternoon asked the other eight members of council if they think Di Biase should step aside and if they’d be willing to ask him to do so.

As of Tuesday, only Regional Councillor Mario Ferri and Thornhill Councillor Alan Shefman responded.

Ferri said he would not pass judgment on Di Biase by asking him to step aside until at the very least, an investigation is complete and all the facts are known.

"That is not my role, that was not what I was elected to do," Ferri wrote in an email. " Doing so would undermine the investigative process, the electoral process and the justice system."

Ferri went on to write: "Allegations are hurled at members of public office quite often, some are accurate, and others are made for political or other gain. We should not rush to judgment. It is only upon investigation of the facts that the truth is revealed. I trust the police will investigate this issue to its fullest and, if required, the court system will make a fair and just determination. If Mr. Di Biase is found guilty of committing criminal acts, he will be removed from office."

Shefman, meanwhile, said he has nothing to add beyond his previous strong statements.

“My comments made at the council and committee of the whole meetings are all I am going to say on this subject. I believe those remarks were very clear,” he said.

Shefman was referring to comments he made in the wake of a report by Vaughan Integrity Commissioner Suzanne Craig that led council to dock Di Biase’s pay for 90 days - about $21,000 - based on findings that he violated the city’s code of conduct.

“As a proud member of this council, I am saddened, even angry, that these actions have damaged the reputation of this body and this city,” Shefman said at council on April 21.

Craig conducted a four-month probe following a complaint by Richard Lorello, a city hall watcher and Di Biase’s longtime political rival.

She found Di Biase interfered in the city’s procurement process to aid Maystar in landing plum municipal contracts and that he created a “culture of fear” among employees who pushed back.

Craig didn’t investigate Maystar and there’s nothing to indicate the company did anything wrong.

In his complaint to the integrity commissioner, Lorello also brought forward allegations that Maystar was helping build Di Biase’s family cottage, as reported in a CBC investigation days before the October 2014 municipal election.

Both Di Biase and Maio denied the allegations made in the CBC report.

Craig concluded that that matter appeared to be of “a criminal nature” and beyond her jurisdiction to investigate.

She advised Lorello he should take the matter to the police, which he reportedly did.

Check back here as this story develops.