Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) Trustee Jake Skinner has been cleared of breaching the board's code of conduct after an investigation into his actions turned up insufficient evidence.
An inquiry committee was launched last year after fellow school board trustee Corrine Rahman filed a code of conduct complaint against Skinner, whose political consulting firm was linked to a pair of smear websites during the 2018 municipal election.
The formal complaint was levelled after Skinner held an informal news conference surrounding the attack websites at the board office prior to a budget meeting. However, the specifics of the complaint were not made public.
“The Inquiry Committee finds that there exists insufficient evidence to support a finding of a breach of the Code of Conduct and recommends to the Board that the Inquiry Committee be dissolved," the school board said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Skinner was a co-owner of Blackridge Strategy which was implicated as having created the smear websites that targeted incumbent city councillors Maureen Cassidy and Virginia Ridley as they ran for re-election. The online attacks included child abuse allegations against Ridley for bringing her young son to an extended Saturday budget meeting and harsh criticism of Cassidy for her extramarital affair with former mayor Matt Brown.
Court documents showed Skinner's former business partner Amir Farahi was linked to the registration and payment of the domains to the anonymous websites.
Skinner has since left Blackridge Strategy to launch his own PR firm. He is in the middle of his second term as a TVDSB trustee and represents Wards 7, 8, 9, and 10.
"I have always upheld the Trustees' code of conduct and will always do so," Skinner said in a statement sent to Blackburn News. "I am happy that after a lengthy process the school board arrived at the conclusion that I was innocent. While being cleared of this is welcome news, my attention is on working with our provincial leaders, administrators, and fellow trustees in finding innovative solutions to the delivery of public education due to Covid-19."
According to the board’s code of conduct, trustees are required to act in “a manner that will inspire public confidence in the abilities and integrity of the board.”
