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Wasaga council chooses to appoint a replacement

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In Council Watch
May 16th, 2016
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Deputy Mayor Nina Bifolchi

By Gisele Winton Sarvis Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin

WASAGA BEACH – Wasaga Beach council voted 4-2 against filling the vacant councillor chair by choosing the next person in line from 2014 election councillor candidates.

Council also voted 4-2 against replacing Ron Anderson, who resigned, through a byelection.

Council voted 4-2 to fill the seat through the third legal option, which is by council appointment.

“I think this is already pre-determined,” said Deputy Mayor Nina Bifolchi.

In recorded votes, Mayor Smith and Councillors Bonnie Smith, Ron Ego and Bill Stockwell voted for the seat to be filled through appointment and not through a byelection or from the councillor candidates.

Bifolchi and Coun. Sylvia Bray voted firstly to fill the seat through councillor candidates and secondly for a byelection.

Mayor Brian Smith told Bifolchi to “Stop…I’m going to ask you to apologize to the rest of council for making an accusation like this to council.”

Bifolchi said she would not offer an apology, that it is within her right to voice her opinion and suggested the mayor take it to the integrity commissioner. He replied that he would. In her report to council, Holly Bryce, town clerk and manager of corporate and strategic initiatives, recommended filling the vacancy through the councillor candidate from the 2014 election who received the most votes but was not elected.

“It respects the democratic process from the last election,” the report reads.

Bifolchi said she agreed with staff. “It’s the most democratic process. Hand picking this person when we have two and half years left does not respect our voters,” she said.

“My opinion is it could be perceived as members of this council pushing their own agenda as opposed to listening to the voting public,” she said before asking for a recorded vote on the first item.

Coun. Smith countered saying that the public voted councillors in to represent them and filling the councillor’s seat is fulfilling that job.

“If we go with an open vote, I don’t feel we’ve let the residents down,” she said.

Coun. Stockwell argued against choosing the next person in line because they may not still be interested in the position and that ballots for mayoral candidates were higher than for councillor candidates.

Councillor Bray said Anderson resigned, at the April 19 council meeting, due his dissatisfaction with the method council makes decisions, adding that either the next-in-line or byelection would be the most democratic process.

Mayor Smith said, “Councillor Anderson resigned his position after 3,608 people voted for him and he walked away from that. So he has no say at this table.”

A byelection would take months and the seat needs to be filled sooner rather than later, said Stockwell.

Coun. Ego did not speak on the issue other than to vote his opposition for the first options and his acceptance of the council appointment option.

Once the appointment option was voted for, Coun. Smith said that she knows of a couple of people who are interested in the position, but Bryce said it’s too early to take applications.

“Because we haven’t done that before, we need a policy,” said Bryce after the meeting.

The policy will be presented at a special council meeting scheduled for May 12.

“The Call for Applicants process ensures that all qualified applicants have an opportunity to fulfill the role of councillor for the Town of Wasaga Beach,” she said in a subsequent press release.

“In order to ensure that the process is open and transparent – when council is exercising its obligation to appoint a person to an otherwise elected office – at least one public meeting to allow deputation from the applicants will be held,” she added.

The estimated costs associated with the next-in-line is $500 and for the Call for Applicants process is approximately $1,500. The cost associated with a byelection would be approximately $95,000.

It is anticipated that the new councillor will take the Oath of Office at the end of June.

To be qualified to hold office, a person must be at least 18, be a Canadian citizen, be a resident (or an owner or tenant of land or the spouse thereof), and not be prohibited from voting.

The person appointed by council will serve until the end of the term, Nov. 30, 2018.

The seven-member council is made up of positions of mayor, deputy mayor and five councillors.

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