City hits snag with Cumberland municipal byelection
The city’s ability to hold a byelection in Cumberland ward during a global pandemic is decreasing by the day, raising the possibility of selecting the only other option to fill the vacant council seat.
At the beginning of March, a byelection seemed like the obvious choice to find the next councillor for the suburban and rural ward in east Ottawa. It wasn’t even halfway through the four-year council term, so selecting a councillor chosen by voters was the sensible thing to do, even if it would cost about $375,000 for a byelection.
The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has injected uncertainty, since it’s hard to imagine how a byelection, with door-to-door campaigning by candidates and in-person voting, could happen at a time of social distancing.
Health officials in Ottawa have been stressing for about a week the importance of social distancing to inhibit the spread of the coronavirus, but no one is sure how long it will be required.
There’s only one other legal option to fill the vacant seat: appointing a new councillor.
The former councillor, Stephen Blais, is now MPP for Orléans after winning a provincial byelection on Feb. 27. He resigned from council March 5.
Council is required to declare the Cumberland ward seat vacant at its next meeting on Wednesday.
The province has allowed municipal council members to participate in meetings electronically during an emergency and still count toward minimum attendance requirements. On
Wednesday, councillors will still be able to attend in person.
The city can only delay for so long its decision on filling the Cumberland ward seat.
Provincial law says council has 60 days after declaring a seat vacant to choose how it will be filled. If it’s through appointment, the new councillor must be appointed within those 60 days.
Council would also have to approve an appointment process, likely involving applications for the job and a way for other councillors to vote for candidates.
There are also legislated timelines for a byelection. All nominations would need to be finalized on a date selected by the clerk between 30 and 60 days after a byelection bylaw is approved. The date of the byelection is 45 days after nominations are finalized.
The city had initially been targeting early June for a byelection, so there’s a buffer available to council to see how the coronavirus pandemic shakes out, but, without certainty about the length of time needed for social distancing, it might be impossible to plan a byelection.
Orléans Coun. Matthew Luloff and Innes Coun. Laura Dudas have been taking care of signing requirements for Cumberland ward items while waiting for a new councillor to be sworn in. Staff in the Cumberland ward office also continue to help residents there.
Some people have publicly said they intended to run for the Cumberland seat, but it remains to be seen if they have put off political ambitions until the next municipal general election in 2022. jwilling@postmedia.com twitter.com/JonathanWilling