Byelection? Appointment? Council could be heading for a fight to fill Ward 13 vacancy
CBC
Arielle Kayabaga's election to Parliament is setting the stage for what could be a fractious debate at London city hall about how best to fill her vacant downtown council seat.
Under Ontario rules, council can opt for a byelection or simply appoint someone to fill the spot until the next municipal election, which is set for Oct. 24, 2022. On the surface, a byelection option may seem the most straightforward, democratic approach, but it's not what City Clerk Cathy Saunders is recommending in a report coming to Tuesday's meeting of the corporate services committee.
Her report, which you can read here, instead recommends council to issue a call for interested parties to apply to fill the Ward 13 vacancy. The candidates would then be voted on by full council, with each member getting a single vote. The voting would continue round by round until one candidate receives an absolute majority. After each round, the candidate with the least amount of votes would be removed from the list.
So, why this approach instead of letting voters decide?
Saunders's report argues that tight timelines, due to multiple provincial rules that govern election timing, pose big challenges. The winner of the byelection wouldn't be in place until February, only three months before a nominations open for the municipal election. Her report says that would put a stress on resources, with staff running a byelection while getting ready for the full election.
While Saunders's report doesn't cite this as a reason to opt for appointment, a byelection would cost between $165,000 and $180,000 with a suggested voting day on Dec. 31.
Council doesn't have to follow the clerk's recommendation, and after CBC News spoke to some councillors on Thursday, it's clear the appointment approach is far from assured.
This story is a collaboration between the Investigative Journalism Foundation and CBC Saskatchewan.
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