His near appointment caused a major controversy at city hall.
But, months later, Ryan Gauss is set to become a member of the London Police Services Board.
Concerns about diversity of the police board and the contentious process used to select Gauss back in March prompted council to go back to the drawing board for the selection.
However, after weeks of speculation about the appointment and interviews for five candidates - Gauss was appointed to the board by a narrow margin.
He was one of five candidates who interviewed with councillors for the role.
The interviews were held behind closed doors.
"He was ready for every answer. His past experience, his vision," councillor Jerry Pribil said when explaining why he would vote for Gauss. "We have crucial issues left and right. We need a member who is ready to attack it. To challenge the others, to challenge the chief."
Gauss works in the office of MP Peter Fragiskatos and has past experience working with the RCMP - and managed Josh Morgan's successful mayoral campaign in 2022.
He edged out former Pride London Festival President Stephen D'Amelio in an 8-6 vote.
"I thought he interviewed very well, he has background working with the policing community and has had to go through experiences that would help shape his perspective," said councillor Skylar Franke. "He shares a unique perspective and, most importantly to me, seems like he'd be a lot of fun to work with."
Franke as well as councillors Corrine Rahman, Sam Trosow, and Hadleigh McAlister, voted for Atlohsa executive director Joseph Wabegijig during the spring vote. They switched to D'Amelio on Tuesday.
They were joined by Morgan and Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis, who had voted for Gauss in March.
"Colleagues had some idea when we first proposed the interview process that perhaps there was just going to be an unwillingness to change," said Lewis. "I am changing my vote."
However, that wasn't enough to change the result.
In round one of voting, Gauss received votes from Pribil as well as councillors Elizabeth Peloza, Susan Stevenson, Paul Van Meerbergen, Peter Cuddy, Steve Lehman and Steve Hillier.
Councillors Anna Hopkins and David Ferreria voted for Wabegijig, who then dropped off the ballot.
In a strange turn of events, Hopkins announced she would leave council chambers for round two of voting and return when it was over - so she missed the second ballot.
On that ballot, Ferreria voted for Gauss while Hillier voted for D'Amelio - resulting in a 7-7.
The third and final vote saw Hillier flip to the Gauss side, and the 8-6 result to end the process.
The final vote to appoint Gauss was 12-3, with Trosow, Franke and McAlister voting against.
Councillors were voting on replacing Susan Toth, who surprisingly resigned from her position months after council appointed her in December.
Toth publicly slammed Morgan and other councillors who voted for Gauss to take her spot on the board, calling for a Black or Indigenous member to replace her.
Gauss was unavailable for comment on Tuesday, but will be a guest on The Craig Needles Podcast on Wednesday.
