BARRIE - Several Barrie councillors are calling on Mayor Dave Aspden to resign immediately from the Barrie Police Services Board to restore public trust.

“The mayor must go from the police services board. He has made so many mistakes,” Coun. Mike Ramsay said after reading a police board report that Aspden handed in a $7,325.60 invoice for an ad for a police chief that ran in the Globe and Mail’s central edition Feb. 6, 10 and 12. Full of grammatical and spelling errors, the ad ran without police board authorization, the report said.

“(Asdpen) should do the honourable thing – pay for the ad and resign from the board. This is the first step in restoring public trust in the police services board,” said Ramsay.

“If the mayor does not resign from the police board, the public will have many questions and concerns about the board – and that’s sad. That’s a tragedy.”

In the report, police board chairperson Doug Jure told city council the mayor has been removed from the chief search subcommittee. When he saw the ad, Jure told The Advance “it’s the mayor’s attempt to hijack the board. Is it perhaps he already has a candidate for the chief’s job?”

Jure’s report stressed the subcommittee didn’t discuss candidate qualifications, let alone an ad, nor did the board authorize the expense. Jure promised to review board bylaws to ensure a similar incident does not happen again.

“In light of the mayor’s mishandling of police board issues since the beginning of this term, I think it would be a distraction and disservice to the board if he does not step down,” said Coun. Rod Jackson.

This year, the board was split on another operational issue relating to an officer’s assignment – which prompted chief Wayne Frechette to threaten to quit before his Sept. 1 retirement date. The Advance reported the Jan. 26 showdown Feb. 4.

Coincidentally, that was the same day Aspden told Frechette about the national newspaper ad.

Days after the ad first ran, police board chairperson Rick Jones resigned Feb. 9.

“I didn’t initiate the ad nor did I see it, but (as chairperson) I took responsibility for it,” he said Monday.

Now, in order to fix the board, Aspden should step down, councillors stress.

“He’s brought shame and a black eye to the police board. Stepping down from the recruitment committee is not enough,” said Coun. Michael Prowse.

Coun. John Brassard said the mayor’s actions aren’t enhancing the police board’s ability to attract the best and brightest.

“People are speculating that he already had a preferred candidate in mind and was trying to manipulate the process,” said Brassard.

“The reality is who would want to work in an environment where the mayor of a city can’t seem to keep his fingers out of the police pie, and even when he gets his hand slapped, still tries to sneak another piece.”

Brassard said the city shouldn’t turn to the OCPC to suspend and investigate the mayor’s behaviour.

“I don’t need (them) to tell me again that the mayor engaged in bad judgment as they did the first time they were called in. Let’s save taxpayers the money that would be spent on lawyers and hearings, move on to October and let the people decide whether he deserves another four years as mayor.”

Just days after becoming police board chairperson in January 2007, Aspden – on mayor’s office letterhead – asked a disciplinary hearing chairman to go easy on a disgraced officer. That sparked an Ontario Civilian Police Commission (formerly the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Services) investigation. For months, Aspden said he was innocent – although at the start of a December 2007 hearing, he pleaded guilty.

To defend himself in this matter, Aspden rang up $15,317 in legal fees. The city paid the fees relating to the Police Services Act charges and an earlier OPP investigation into an April 2007 trip he took to China with a developer.

Aspden could not be reached in time for this story.