Council should invite the runner-up in the last East Kent ward election to fill the council seat soon to be vacated by MPP-elect Steve Pinsonneault, Chatham-Kent staff say.
Council should invite the runner-up in the last East Kent ward election to fill the council seat soon to be vacated by MPP-elect Steve Pinsonneault, Chatham-Kent staff say.
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Pinsonneault, the Progressive Conservative candidate, won the Lambton-Kent-Middlesex provincial byelection May 2.
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Council has yet to declare Pinsonneault’s East Kent (Ward 3) seat vacant, staff say in a report going to politicians Monday.
The top two finishers in the East Kent ward race in the 2022 municipal election, Pinsonneault and John Wright, were elected to the ward’s two council seats.
The candidate with the next highest vote total, Moréna McDonald, should be asked to fill the vacancy, and sworn in as soon as possible she accepts, the report recommends.
McDonald said Thursday she’s willing to accept the role, if that’s council’s wish, adding she’d have more to say after the final decision.
McDonald is a marketing and communications manager and event planner. She previously worked as a radio news anchor and reporter.
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Her community experience includes co-chairing the Chatham-Kent to the Power of Young People Advisory Group, and serving on the Chatham-Kent community development advisory committee.
The other option to fill the seat is to pass a bylaw calling a ward byelection, the report said.
“The estimated cost to hold a byelection for a council seat in Ward 3 would be approximately $75,000. . .,” the report said. “There would be little or no cost associated with a council appointment.”
The Municipal Act doesn’t specify an appointment process, leaving it up to council to determine.
Alternatives include appointing the runner-up in the last election, applications for the position, or inviting the appointment to a community member.
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Whichever route council chooses, any person appointed or elected would hold the seat until the current council term ends on Nov. 14, 2026.
“There is approximately 2 1/2 years remaining for the 2022-2026 term of office,” the report added. “Time is of the essence in filling the vacancy. . . to allow Ward 3 appropriate representation.”
A councilor since 2006, Pinsonneault ran in the provincial election to replace former PC MPP and cabinet minister Monte McNaughton, who left politics last fall to take a job in the private sector.
2022 EAST KENT (WARD 3) RESULTS
- *Steve Pinsonneault: 2,049 (37.47%)
- *John Wright: 1,727 (31.58%)
- Morena McDonald: 1,161 (21.23%)
- Matt Lamarche: 315 (5.76%)
- Martin Fisher: 216 (3.95%)
- Total votes: 5,468
*Elected to council
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