The city's new mayor has set out his vision for the next four years at city hall - as he and his council colleagues were sworn in to their new positions.
Josh Morgan addressed the 14 newly-elected, or re-elected members of council, and about 450 Londoners at RBC Place on Monday night during the first meeting for the group.
"We have general agreement on what the issues are that London is facing, we have marching orders from the electorate and they're very consistent with what they told us through the campaign," Morgan said after the meeting. "Our job is to find the solutions."
"I don't think we're going to debate the challenges London is facing right now, I think we'll be talking about the approaches and how we deal with these challenges," Morgan said when asked what the new council's priorities will be.
Morgan delivered remarks in front of friends and family members of the new council before two actual motions were voted on.
Councillors unanimously appointed Ward 2 Councillor Shawn Lewis as Deputy Mayor, and then registered another 15-0 vote to name Ward 12 Councillor Elizabeth Peloza Budget Chair.
Lewis becomes the first open member of the LGBTQ+ community to hold the role, something not lost on Morgan.
"It was not that long ago when a London mayor would not even issue a proclamation recognizing the pride parade and the pride community, then we had years of politicians being afraid to march in the parade and years of city hall not even raising the pride flag," Morgan said. "For Shawn to reach this level, first off, he's earned it, but second, he has the ability to show really how far we've come as a community."
Lewis acknowledged the historical significance of taking the role, but said he's mainly focused on the job ahead.
"We all have a lot of work to do," Lewis said. "Of course, every councillor is going to play a role in that."
Both Lewis and Peloza are set to hold these positions until the end of the term in 2026 - not for two year time frames the way Ed Holder split up the previous term.
"I think it's going to be important to have some stability over the next four years," Lewis said about the change. "I don't think we need to get distracted halfway through the term on titles. There's lots of opportunity for all of us to do the work."
Council starts their regular city hall meetings on Wednesday.
