Scott Hahn resigns from Woolwich council, citing time constraints
WOOLWICH HAS A VACANT seat around its council table following the resignation of Ward 1 councillor Scott Hahn. He gave notice January 17, with immediate effect.
He cited new work commitments as the impetus for the decision, saying he would no longer have the time to give his council position the attention it warranted, township clerk Val Hummel told Hahn’s colleagues during a budget meeting Thursday.
A first-term councillor, Hahn won a Ward 1 seat in 2014.
Council is expected to formally declare the seat vacant when it meets January 30, said Hummel. From that point, the township will have 60 days to fill it.
Even though there’s another municipal election in the fall, the position has to be filled if there are more than three months until the next vote.
How the seat will be filled is a matter for council to decide, likely at its January 30 meeting, she said. A byelection is unlikely given the expense, with councillors having the option to solicit applications from the public.
As the process is new ground for the township, staff is still working out the details on the in-term replacement protocol, she added.
Hahn said this week a Stratford-based job that he started at the beginning of the year was taking up too much of his time to allow him to continue as a councillor.
“There are just not enough hours in the day,” he said in an interview Monday.
“If I stayed on, it would be just going through the motions, just collecting a paycheque. I didn’t think that was right,” he explained of his resignation. “This was the only decision that made sense.”
Hahn is remaining an Elmira resident, but doesn’t have any plans just now for running again in future elections if his schedule permits it.
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. It’s just too hectic right now,” he said, noting he took pleasure in his time as a councillor.
“I enjoyed it. I certainly didn’t want to leave it, but I’m leaving on good terms.”