Councilor to keep filling in as Petrolia mayor extends medical leave

With Petrolia’s mayor recently extending his medical leave of absence, town council has voted to continue with one acting mayor.

Council voted for Joel Field to continue as acting mayor until Dec. 31, or until Mayor Brad Loosley returns, town officials said in a release.

“I’m honoured,” said Field, a 13-year councilor who’s been filling in for Loosley since April 11.

“You definitely get a lot more phone calls from the public asking questions,” he said of his experience so far, which also includes chairing meetings and attending county council.

He wished Loosley a speedy recovery and thanked other councilors for their support.

“We all have different personalities and bring different things to the table, but they’ve all rallied around the support I need to do this as well,” he said.

Normally, under Petrolia bylaws, the town’s six councilors each are assigned acting mayor duties for two months a year.

But that rotation is more for one-off meetings or events, Field said.

“I’ve never heard of a mayor that’s had to go off on medical (leave) like this, in our municipality anyways,” he said.

So, with Field already two months on the job, council voted June 12 for an exemption “continuing the tradition of support for the community and providing a clear point of contact,” a town release said.

The rotation remains in effect to back up Field, said town clerk Mandi Pearson, noting Loosley suggested having one person continue as acting mayor.

“It’s a daily integrated role. . . (with) county council responsibilities and town responsibilities,” she said. “So rather than having that be a rotation, it was best seen that it was a permanent fixture to who that head of council would be while Mayor Loosley was absent.”

Field’s initial appointment in April was for three months, also breaking with the bylaw and for the same continuity reasons, the town release said.

Loosley is keeping the details of his leave private, Pearson said.

“Obviously if he’s able to return earlier, that would definitely be . . . welcomed,” she said.

Council plans to discuss the rotation at its next meeting, so individual council members aren’t covering the same two months every year, Field said.

There also should be a discussion about creating a rule for extended mayoral leaves, he said. “We definitely need to put something in for the future because we’ve never had it.”