Rosemarie Bryan, a newly appointed city councillor for Toronto's Etobicoke North district, resigned from her position just hours after several homophobic tweets were surfaced from her social media account. 

Tonight, Rosemarie Bryan has resigned the City Council seat she was appointed to today.

— John Tory (@TorontosMayor) June 25, 2022

Bryan was meant to fill the seat of departing City Councillor Michael Ford who resigned his position after his recent victory in the provincial election.

Rather than have an election to fill the open seat, the convention is for the departing city councillor to recommend his or her replacement and as we learned this week, the current city councillors basically agree to the recommendation without any proper vetting or due diligence.

All was fine and well until a number of anti-2SLGBTQ+, Islamophobic and anti-Asian social media posts were surfaced by local journalist Jonathan Goldsbie.

At the start of Pride weekend, City Council appoints as its newest member a person who's repeatedly shared anti-LGBTQ content on Facebook: https://t.co/x6RbBbkuyC pic.twitter.com/edoOd8jC9D

— Jonathan Goldsbie (@goldsbie) June 24, 2022

Councillors quickly realized they might have been a tad too hasty to back the appointment which was done through a simple vote. Only two councillors voted against confirming Bryan.

"I want to state unequivocally that had I seen these posts before the vote, I would have never supported Rosemary," wrote councillor Buxton Potts in a tweet. 

Many of the councillors who voted for Bryan now admit the process needs to change and that the confirmation of replacement councillors has relied too heavily on the recommendation of the departing one.

It’s customary for council to support the choice of the councillor who resigned their seat since they won the election. This dates back a long way and certainly needs to be re-examined.

— Mike Layton (@m_layton) June 24, 2022

In this case, no councillors appeared to do any due diligence that could have possibly surfaced the social media posts before Bryan's appointment was confirmed. 

This process certainly demands a rethink of the way the appointment process works.

— Mike Layton (@m_layton) June 25, 2022

Some of Bryan's old posts include shared content from Tucker Carlson and statements from preachers that claim "homosexuality is wrong" and that "divine order is needed in [] churches," along with comments of approval from Bryan that had, at one point, clearly supported these messages. 

These posts are not acceptable for a Toronto City Councillor.

I totally disagree with any homophobic or transphobic views. I absolutely support our 2SLGBTQ+ residents. City Councillors are expected to set an example when it comes to consistency with our shared values.

— John Tory (@TorontosMayor) June 25, 2022

Bryan's social media posts were first uncovered by Goldsbie on Friday night when he tweeted that City Council's newest member is a person who has "repeatedly shared anti-LGBTQ content on Facebook" which, the discovery shocking enough on its own, was found at the start of Pride weekend. 

Councillors began to weigh-in just moments after Goldsbie's revelation, regretting not digging enough earlier to uncover what would later make a huge difference. 

I want to state unequivocally if I had I seen these social media posts prior to City Council I would never have voted for Rosemarie Bryan. I am glad she resigned. The system for Cllr vacancies needs to be changed. #Ward24 #TOPoli https://t.co/b28hbZ1YjK

— Paul Ainslie (@cllrainslie) June 25, 2022

Bryan issued a statement late Friday stating she was "so devastated" that past social media posts she made "are now being thrown against" her decades of commitment to the community. 

Breaking - The interim Ward 1 city councillor appointed by Toronto city council this afternoon has resigned after @goldsbie flagged Facebook posts that appear to be homophobic pic.twitter.com/LZtYsq12zR

— David Rider (@dmrider) June 25, 2022

Bryan claims she will "remain committed to helping [her] community in every way that [she] can."

Many people are still upset at the fact that Bryan was ever appointed in the first place.

People are also critiquing her "apology" or lack thereof, saying that the only apology issued was an apology about the fact that she was discovered. 

Mayor John Tory tweeted that he has now "asked City officials to review the overall appointment process ahead of future Council appointments."