Council to appoint Christie’s replacement

Clearview council officially declared the seat of the late Ed Christie vacant at its January 13 meeting.
Clerk Pamela Fettes reported that, as set out in the Municipal Act, when a sitting member of council dies, the seat must be declared vacant within the next two meetings.
It was noted that Monday would have been Christie’s 80th birthday.
Christie died on Nov. 30 from acute leukemia. His sudden death was a shock to all, as he was an active and vibrant member of the community.
Fettes said she prepared the report with a heavy heart and much difficulty laying out options for council as to how to go about replacing Christie.
Members had to chose between appointing an individual, possibly from the list of candidates who ran in the 2018 election, putting out a general call for applicants, or holding a by-election. The cost to run a by-election was estimated at $10,000 to $15,000.
The appointment, or calling of an election, would have to be done within 60 days.
Council agreed to appointing a member without making an open call for applicants.
Fettes reported that staff developed a process, because the Municipal Act does not prescribe a process for filling a vacancy by appointment.
Each nomination will be confirmed by a council vote. At a subsequent meeting, nominees will be offered a maximum of 10 minutes each to speak and council members will be able to ask two questions each. The final vote will be done by ballot, as laid out in the approved voting procedure.
In 2018, Christie’s opponents were Al Bell and Phyllis Dineen. Christie won with 478 votes. Dineen received 263 votes and Bell received 219 votes.