by Nick Pron, The Toronto Star
Toronto, Ontario, Canada -- The stress of the ongoing scandal that has rocked the Toronto Police Association has led to the resignation of its spokesperson, an official who helped build the union into one of the most powerful in the country.
“I’d like to do something a little less stressful in my life,” Andrew Clarke said yesterday in a brief interview, adding, tongue in cheek, “How ‘bout I run for mayor of Toronto?”
In a memo sent to Toronto police stations yesterday, the 41-year-old former constable with 31 Division acknowledged that the controversy surrounding the resignation of former union head Rick McIntosh and the fate of fellow director Mike McCormack had taken its toll.
“I no longer feel I can effectively do my job,” he wrote to officers in the 7,200-member union. He referred to “the controversy” over his two colleagues as being “extremely difficult” for the other members of the police union board to handle. They had demanded that McIntosh and McCormack resign from their posts on the union or be impeached.
Facing criminal charges of committing a fraud on the government, influence peddling and breach of trust, McIntosh eventually resigned and left the force.
But McCormack, son of former police chief Bill McCormack, refused to quit and reports daily to work at the union office, near Sheppard Ave. E. and the Don Valley Parkway. He faces internal police charges, including insubordination and corrupt practices, in relation to his dealings with a used-car dealer.
“This experience,” wrote Clarke, referring to the McIntosh and McCormack issues, “has taken a significant physical and mental toll on me. It is with a heavy heart that I am tendering my resignation.”
Clarke said he will be seeking “other career options” but declined to elaborate.
It had been expected that Clarke was going to run for the top union job when a by-election was held, likely in the fall.
But his surprise resignation immediately fuelled speculation that McCormack would be the leading candidate, despite his pending police tribunal hearing.
“There’s a lot of pressure on him to run for the top job,” said one union insider who didn’t want to be named. “He has a lot of support out there among the rank and file.”
Three years ago, McCormack was one of the founders of FiteNite, a controversial evening of boxing matches that angered top police brass, who feared it conveyed the wrong image to the public.
But FiteNite would go on to become the most popular social event on the police calendar. This year’s event raised $20,000, funds that will send two students to university.
Less than four months later, McIntosh and McCormack would both be charged, and soon after, the other directors, including Clarke, would be demanding their resignations.
Clarke had been the director of uniform services. He was known during his seven years with the union to be on call “24-7,” cellular phone in hand, listening to complaints from members, always there when they appeared in court for criminal charges or before the police tribunal on internal matters.