After posting a glowing endorsement from his former political science professor, Ward 3 Coun. Mason Ainsworth is under fire for the manoeuvre from one of his fellow Lakehead University students.
On top of that, the professor, Dr. Syed Islam, says he has not endorsed any candidates in the upcoming municipal election.
“We, professors, always write letters of recommendation for many of our students for employment/jobs or admissions but, for sure, not endorsing for elections,” Islam told OrilliaMatters.
“If I make good comments about the performance of any student in my courses for any employment/jobs or higher admissions, that particular student may use that past recommendation letter, but that does not mean that I have endorsed him or her for city elections,” he said, speaking generally.
Speaking specifically about this case, Islam said the letter of recommendation Ainsworth posted is a letter the professor wrote a few years ago.
“As I remember, he requested me to write a letter of reference for him while he was seeking a summer job and an award a couple of years ago when he was my student at Lakehead University,” said Islam, stressing “certainly that is not my recent letter or my endorsement for him in (the) 2018 elections.”
Islam said he didn’t see Ainsworth’s post.
“All I wrote in my recommendation letter (was) that he was a good student in my courses … and if he wants to use that letter for his self-promotion to project his past academic background in the school that's up to him as long as he does not claim that I have endorsed him for election.”
Student Adrian Smith counters Ainsworth’s post – on his re-election Facebook page as part of a series of endorsements – would have led people to believe the professor endorsed the Ward 3 councillor’s re-election bid.
Smith contacted the professor to research the endorsement and then commented on Ainsworth’s Facebook post.
While he is miffed at Ainsworth’s post that appears as an endorsement of his candidacy, he is more upset that his fellow student refused to answer his concerns and shut down dialogue.
“He deleted multiple comments from me questioning the legitimacy of the endorsement,” said Smith, who attended Lakehead from 2013-2017 at the same time Ainsworth was a student at the Orillia campus. (Ainsworth expects to graduate in April.)
“As someone who has supported Mason previously, it was disturbing to see his willingness to silence critical commentary on his post, especially in light of the inaccuracy of the post which has now been confirmed,” said Smith. “Critical thought is integral to democracy and silencing an elector from the municipality is disconcerting.”
Ainsworth provided the following emailed response:
“I did post a reference letter on my (Facebook) from Dr. Islam as I was told I could use it whenever I needed it for help,” said Ainsworth. “As I also used it during the last election, I did not see an issue with using it again. When it was brought to my attention that it was an issue, I immediately took the posts down.”
He did not respond to a further request for comment on Smith's concerns.
