Cambridge council set to examine options for vacant Ward 1 seat
Cambridge city council will be looking at the options available to fill the Ward 1 seat left vacant after Coun. Donna Reid died earlier this month.
On Tuesday, council will examine the two options to fill the seat – either through a byelection or through an appointment process.
On Aug. 13, the city announced Reid had died, and on Aug. 15 council made the declaration of vacancy of the Ward 1 councillor position, triggering the 60 day countdown for the municipality to choose an option to fill the seat.
According to the report by Cambridge City Clerk Danielle Manton, Ward 1 is made up of approximately 13,369 electors.
In the 2022 Municipal Election, Ward 1 had 3,158 voters cast ballots for the role of Ward 1 councillor. The election saw 2,076 votes cast via internet voting and 1,082 votes cast in person.
BYELECTION OPTION
If council chooses the byelection route, there are multiple options for methods of voting, including internet voting only, paper ballot with tabulator, internet voting and paper ballot with tabulator and paper ballot with a manual count.
Choosing to fill the vacancy through a byelection means that Ward 1 will be vacant for approximately three months from the date that council declared the vacancy.
The clerk is responsible for fixing the date of nomination day to be a day not less than 30 days and not more than 60 days after Council passes a bylaw to hold the byelection, the report reads.
The proposed timeline in the report indicated council would begin a nomination period on Sept. 5, with advance voting beginning Nov. 1.
The official results would occur on Nov. 14, and on Nov. 28 the new councillor would be sworn in.
BY APPOINTMENT OPTION
If city council choses to go with an appointment process, the city can appoint a Ward 1 candidate from the 2022 who received the most number of votes in the previous municipal election.
Data from the Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO) shows the 2022 municipal election for Ward 1 runner up was Helen Shwery with 1,062 votes.
Another option is to appoint an eligible elector without a formal selection process, meaning council may choose to fill the vacancy by appointing any qualified individual.
Lastly, council can appoint an eligible elector through an established formal selection process, which would permit interested, eligible persons to submit an application for appointment to council.
FINANCIAL COST
If council chooses to fill the vacancy by byelection, it is estimated that the costs of conducting the byelection will be between $20,000 and $50,000, the report reads.
This estimate is based on cost estimates the City Clerk has obtained and on the number of eligible electors in Ward 1.
Following the 2020 by-election for Ward 7, the 2022 Municipal Election and the resumption of the Catholic District School Board Election, the balance in the Election Reserve is currently $61,970, the report says.
If a byelection is selected by council, staff recommend funding the additional costs from the rate stabilization reserve fund which is intended to be used to offset extraordinary one-time pressures.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The CrowdStrike outage is affecting heath-care services in Canada. Here's what you need to know
A global technology outage that's grounded flights and delayed border crossings is also challenging health-care services in the country, as issues with Microsoft services persist.
Quebec woman's death warns of dangers of cosmetic surgery abroad
Brian McConnell's daughter, Florence McConnell, died after a liposuction surgery complication in Morocco. Now, he warns others against undergoing cosmetic surgeries abroad.
BREAKING Tentative deal to end LCBO strike on hold as province accuses union of introducing new demands
The LCBO strike appears to be back on just hours after a tentative agreement was announced.
opinion Trump's assassination attempt not a political winner
Danger and fear are so pervasive throughout the national political ethos it is now the norm, writes Washington political columnist Eric Ham.
Woman guilty of murdering, dismembering boyfriend in Nanaimo, B.C.
A 28-year-old British Columbia woman has been found guilty of killing and dismembering her boyfriend on Vancouver Island nearly four years ago.
'I feel cheated': Here are the products hit hardest by shrinkflation
Canadians who feel like they are getting less bang for their buck at the grocery store these days might be right. A new report shows the effects of shrinkflation are real.
Saskatchewan Party candidate for nomination withdraws, apologizes for putting child in blackface
A former prospective Saskatchewan Party nominee has apologized for putting a student in blackface.
Canadian flights, hospitals, border disrupted during global technology outage
A global technology outage grounded flights, disrupted hospitals and backed up border crossings in Canada on Friday, as issues persisted hours after problems with Microsoft services were said to be getting fixed.
WeCook ready-to-eat meatball dish recalled over possible Listeria contamination
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is recalling a WeCook ready-to-eat meatball dish due to possible Listeria contamination.