Photo: Goderich Town Hall
Goderich Town Council has put the wheels in motion to fill its vacant seat.
During the regular council meeting on October 16th, council chose to move forward with a process that would have interested individuals apply, and then council would vote to select a person to become the town’s newest councillor.
The choice was made to prevent needing to spend $14,000 on a regular by-election to fill the vacancy.
Anyone interested in being considered for the council position has to fit the following criteria:
- Must be 18 years of age or older
- Must be a Canadian citizen
- Must be a resident of the Town of Goderich
- An owner or tenant of land within the municipality, or be the spouse of an owner or tenant
- Must be eligible to vote under Section 17(3) of the Municipal Elections Act
- Must not be disqualified under the Municipal Act, or any other Act from holding office
Applying for the position is similar to running for council in a regular election, as Clerk Andrea Fisher explains, “All applications packages including a personal statement shall be considered public documents and will be made available for public viewing in the same way as a nomination form for a candidate in a municipal election.”
It will be different, however, than submitting a nomination form in that there won’t be a registration fee like there is for putting your name forward in a regular election.
“It’s actually a benefit for anyone that wants to put their name forward. They’re going to save themselves some money in regards to campaigning. So if you’ve ever had an interest in running for town council, this’d be the time to do it.”
The seat on council became available when the council chose Leah Noel as Deputy Mayor during a closed session during the September 25th regular meeting.
Details on applying for Goderich Council can be found here.