Essex council appoints new ward 3 councillor
CBC
After a short discussion, Jason Matyi was appointed Ward 3 councillor for the County of Essex Monday evening.
Councillors appointed Matyi out of 10 total applicants. Initially, council received 12 applications for the open seat, but two applicants removed themselves for consideration during the process.
During Monday's council meeting, councillors nominated and voted on three people from the list of 10. These nominations included Matyi, Bill Caixerio and Mac Goslin.
Mac Goslin received only one vote and was dropped after the first round of voting.
"[Matyi] is someone with deep roots in Ward 3 and a clear commitment to community, he's engaged and he is involved," said Ward 2 Coun. Kim Verbeek.
On Feb. 28, Essex council heard from applicants during a special meeting but decided to delay the decision until its regular council meeting.
During that meeting, Matyi told council that he's lived in Colchester for 25 years, is married and has two kids.
He said he's worked with the same company for 25 years in installing machinery and during the pandemic, he decided to go back to school and is just finishing a bachelor of engineering degree.
The Ward 3 vacancy was created when councillor Steve Bjorkman was named interim deputy mayor after Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche was chosen by council to be the new mayor at the end of January.
The mayoral seat was vacated by former mayor Larry Snively, who resigned after pleading guilty to an Ontario Elections Act violation.
Ward 4 Coun. Sherry Bondy, Ward 1 Coun. Joe Garon, deputy mayor Steve Bjorkman and Verbeek all voted in Matyi's favour, allowing him to takeover the position by earning one vote above Caixerio.
Before councillors moved into the voting process, they commented on their reasons behind voting for a particular person.
Bondy, Garon and Verbeek told council that they didn't think experience was necessary, but were voting for a "new face," as that is what Ward 3 constituents told them they were looking for on council.
"I would love to have a voice at the table with no previous biases or alliances," said Verbeek.
The days leading up to Christmas day can be the most stressful time of the holidays. Especially if those days are spent travelling to the post office hoping to pick up that special, last minute gift you ordered online, just in time to put it under the tree.
The Yukon's energy provider says Whitehorse is not at imminent risk of blackouts, but with very cold weather forecasted through the holidays, residents are still being asked to conserve power.
A pedestrian is dead after a vehicle crashed into a building in Toronto, said police.
RCMP in Inuvik, N.W.T., say two youth have been arrested after officers found suspected cocaine and a loaded firearm at a home in the community.
Canada and 13 other countries issued a joint statement Wednesday condemning the Israeli security cabinet's approval of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Alberta health officials are flagging the circulation of a rare bacteria known as Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) among homeless adults living in Calgary.
The future of a prominent building in London's Old East Village (OEV), once home to the London Food Incubator, is looking uncertain following the relocation of its anchor tenant and the planned departure of another.
As Yukon continues to deal with a prolonged spell of extreme cold, emergency officials are advising people to be prepared in case of a power outage.
Police say they have found and arrested 47-year-old Douglas Yetman, a man wanted for murder.
Confirmed flu cases in northeastern Ontario are much higher now than they were at the same period last year.
The organization that represents some of America's largest spirits producers is calling for the NSLC to remove a policy that gives preferential markup to Nova Scotian spirit products.
Some energy experts are challenging N.B. Power’s claim that a proposed billion-dollar power plant is needed to avoid an electricity shortage predicted for 2028.
After walking a few laps around the shop, Maria Castagna picks up a glass ornament in the form of a pink, sparkly ice cream cone and smiles widely.