Council set to fill Skelly slot: Why not Ted?
‘Experience is No. 1’ says Sam Merulla ... and McMeekin was a councillor from 1977 to 1981 in that very same Ward 7
Here’s an idea.
Maybe city council should appoint outgoing MPP Ted McMeekin to temporarily fill the council vacancy created by Coun. Donna Skelly’s election to Queen’s Park.
Or how about former councillors Brad Clark, Margaret McCarthy or Russ Powers?
Maybe even former mayor Larry Di Ianni?
Whoever councillors pick as a stand-in, legally they have no choice but to replace Skelly, who’s moving on to represent Flamborough-Glanbrook as a MPP in Doug Ford’s Conservative government.
Under provincial rules, council is required to appoint a replacement within 60 days of the seat being officially declared vacant.
According to city clerk Janet Pilon, the vacancy countdown begins when Skelly submits a letter of resignation to the city or the provincial election results are published in the Ontario Gazette, the province’s weekly publication of legislative happenings.
Skelly is working on her resignation timeline right now but hopes to stay on for
at least a couple more council meetings. Based on precedent, the Ontario Gazette can be expected to publish election results near month’s end.
And, no, a byelection isn’t on the table, even in the unlikely event council wanted to call one. By provincial law, byelections can’t be held when a council seat becomes vacant after March 31 in a municipal election year, which this is.
Therefore, an appointment it will be. Staff are working on an information report for council. And Coun. Sam Merulla says some of his colleagues have already informally chatted about choices and processes.
You’ll recall that when Ward 3 Coun. Bernie Morelli died in early 2014, Merulla stickhandled the temporary appointment of former mayor Bob Morrow to fill the vacancy.
It was a good choice that worked out well. But Morrow died last February.
Skelly’s replacement doesn’t have to be a former member of council. Under provincial legislation, councillors can appoint anyone who, besides being willing to serve, is a Canadian citizen, Hamilton resident and at least 18 years of age.
But given the steep learning curve involved, Merulla believes the ideal appointee should have council experience or at least some political office-holding experience.
“Experience is No. 1,” says Merulla. “Also, someone who’s not planning on running for council so we’re not giving someone an advantage in the next election.”
That stipulation came into play when Morrow was appointed. He promised not to run in the 2014 fall election.
If willing to serve, McMeekin would certainly be an intriguing
addition to the council mix. The longserving Liberal MPP was defeated last week by New Democrat Sandy Shaw in the race for Hamilton WestAncaster-Dundas.
McMeekin not only has deep political experience, he got his start as a Hamilton city councillor representing the very central Mountain ward Skelly is relinquishing. McMeekin was a Ward 7 councillor from 1977 to 1981.
The current council term officially runs until the end of November, so stepping in as a temporary fill-in would be a stiff time commitment for anyone doing other work. Both Clark and Di Ianni, for example, are political consultants and lobbyists, which could prove to be too much of a complication for everyone concerned.
Interestingly, council came very close to not needing to appoint anyone at all.
Under provincial law, if a council
vacancy occurs within 90 days before voting day of a municipal election, the municipality doesn’t have to fill the vacancy.
Voting day is Oct. 22. Ninety days prior begins July 24. That’s just a few short weeks after Skelly’s seat is expected to be formally declared vacant.
Still, filling the vacuum isn’t about calendar dates and technicalities. It’s about making sure the interests of 62,000 residents of Ward 7 are looked after at City Hall.
“It has to be dealt with soon.” says Merulla. “At the end of the day, the people of Ward 7, including my mother who lives there, deserve the representation.”