Shelburne municipal byelection postponed

The byelection scheduled for April 4 in District 6 of the Municipality of Shelburne has been postponed.

The municipality made the decision to postpone the byelection due to the escalating measures the province is putting in place to minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus (COVID-19).

“As of March 19, the Province has stated that among other restrictions, gatherings are limited to 50 people or fewer. Going ahead with the by-election would put staff, candidates and the community as a whole at great risk," said Warden Penny Smith in a press release. “This is also unfair to the candidates as they would be challenged to run an effective campaign. Going door-to-door is part of campaigning and in today’s environment, this is simply not safe to do.”

Ron Coole, Timothy Gillespie, Pat Nickerson and Sherry

Thorburn Irvine have declared their candidacy for the byelection to fill the council seat left vacant with the resignation of Deputy-Warden David Levy.

The municipality will continue to monitor the postponement of the byelection and will re-evaluate once public health officials advises that it is safe to proceed.

District 6 includes the communities of West Green Harbour, East Green Harbour and Western Head.