North Glengarry council changes course, sends voters to polls January 16

Voters in North Glengarry will be heading to the polls on January 16 to elect a new mayor for their township.

The decision to elect a mayor via by-election comes after a series of unusually-intense debates between council members during two separate meetings this past week.

Furthermore, last month's appointment of Chris McDonell as mayor and Jamie MacDonald as deputy mayor were declared null and void on October 24, after a "procedural deficiency" was discovered in the awarding of those posts.

Chief administrative officer Daniel Gagnon explained that, according to the Municipal Act, council should have waited at least one meeting - following the resignation of former mayor Grant Crack on October 11 - to decide on appointing a replacement or going to a by-election.

A special meeting was held last Thursday, November 3 to make a new decision - this time in the presence of all six council members - and the appointment of McDonnell as mayor was again put forward. It came to a stalemate with a 3-3 tie.

A motion to hold a by-election for the mayor's post was put forward, and passed with a 4-2 vote after Councillor Gary Shepherd decided to align his vote with those of Councillors MacDonald, Jim Picken and Carma Williams.

MacDonald later said he would have eventually agreed to appoint McDonell as mayor, had a stalemate presented itself on the second vote.

At the meeting held Monday, November 7, council approved a motion to hold a 25-day nomination period, effective immediately. Should more than one candidate present themselves for the mayor's job, a 45-day election campaign will be held as of Friday, December 2.

The by-election will be held on Monday, January 16 with an advance poll on Saturday, January 7.

"It was pretty obvious at the table that there was no consensus," Coun. Picken told The Review following the meeting. "As Carma said, the safe option is an election. This [election] is for three years and for the leader of the municipality."

Picken noted that of the 40-odd members of the public in attendance on November 3, "it was pretty clear" that a large majority were in favour of a by-election.

"The mayor's got to bring consensus as much as possible," he continued. "He's in the township office, advising staff on procedure, and I think the direction of where we're going in the next three years - in the selection of who's going to head council - is vital for the township and the business this council has to carry out."

Following the motion to approve a by-election, Coun. Williams asked staff to look at various options, including electronic voting, in order to reduce costs. Coun. MacDonald also highlighted a concern, on behalf of the taxpayers, that there could be a series of three by-elections in the township.

For example, should McDonell become the next mayor in the by-election, the deputy mayor's seat would need to be filled. If that post goes to a by-election, and is filled by a member of council, then a third by-election could be held to replace that councillor.

It all depends on the wishes of individual council members, as Gagnon succinctly noted: "If they are any vacancies in the future, only council can make the call if they will be filled by appointment or a by-election."

However, if recent debates are any indication, the unity normally seen between council members in public meetings is beginning to show cracks in its foundation.

"The lack of consensus has put us in the position where we are now," said Coun. Williams. "I would think that holding consecutive elections on an ongoing basis would not be very sensible or doable."

Still, she reiterated, it depends on whether consensus could be achieved for upcoming vacant positions.

Councillor Eric MacSweyn replied, "I don't understand how we can flip-flop when we've already made the decision to hold an election," a comment that prompted an immediate reply from Coun. Picken.

"I don't think anyone is flip-flopping," Picken replied. "When I made my presentation the other night, I made it very clear that this was about the mayoral election, to select the leader that would take us through the next three years. As the leader, it's very important for this council to go to an election to legitimize any future major decisions we're going to be taking."

The Kenyon ward councillor further commented that such decisions would be made on behalf of 11,500 people, which MacSweyn readily agreed with. However, the Lochiel representative said the mayor is still only one vote in a council of seven elected members.

"Appointing a member, whether it be for a ward or a deputy or whatnot, is still one vote," said MacSweyn. "And you're right, 11,500 people have that right. We've already started going down that route."