Port Hope council opens door to allow businessman to fill vacant seat
After a lengthy debate Tuesday, Port Hope council ultimately moved toward filling its vacant seat in Ward 2 by appointing the ward’s third-place finisher in the 2022 election — potentially Darrell Toms — to replace Chris Collins, who stepped down from his post Jan. 26.
With two seats available on council for Ward 2, Toms finished with 374 votes in the fall of 2022, well back of Coun. Vicki Mink (646 votes) and Collins (604 votes).
There were seven candidates who vied for the two rural seats in Ward 2 during the 2022 municipal election.
Collins was forced to vacate the seat after he was appointed to serve as a provincial justice of the peace.
Per the Justices of the Peace Act, Collins is no longer eligible to serve as a member of town council, due to the requirement that a justice of the peace must terminate other employment and abstain from engaging in any political activities upon appointment.
There are a few benchmarks to meet before Toms can join council. First, the decision reached by council’s Committee of the Whole must still be ratified at the next regular council meeting on March 5. As well, the municipality must confirm Toms’ eligibility and desire to fill the position.
Metroland has reached out to Toms for comment, however, he had earlier posted to the Port Hope Politics Facebook page that if council was willing to take that route, he would be interested.
“I have been following the posts about the vacant Ward 2 council seat. I have also had people stopping in to see if I am interested, as I had the next highest votes for Ward 2 in the last election,” he wrote on Feb. 7.
“Yes, I am interested in filling the position and I have reached out to the current mayor and council members and advised them of my interest.”
Toms ran in 2022 largely on a platform that would raise awareness of rural issues on Port Hope council.
“I come from a family of three generations that have (run) businesses and called Port Hope home,” he wrote in a candidate profile ahead of the 2022 election.
“I am a proud business owner in downtown Port Hope for the last 10 years. I am married and have two young children.
“Over the next four years I would like to focus on ensuring responsible development in our community, investing in our green spaces and parks, working with our farms and small business, and to look at ways to bring new business to Port Hope. I know some of these seem like big ideas, but I have never been one to shy away from a challenge.”
Port Hope council was on the clock in its decision how best to fill the seat left vacant by Collins. It had until April 13 to decide between an appointment or byelection.
Mink, who had preferred the byelection option, said her own queries among Port Hope residents convinced her it was the most democratic option to fill the seat, but council heard it would cost approximately $25,000 and traditionally voter turnout is low for byelections.
A staff report indicated in 11 similar circumstances in Northumberland council and Durham Region over the past nine years, seven seats were filled through appointments and four were filled through byelections. The byelection option was rejected in a 6-2 vote.
Council then had to decide how it would appoint someone to the seat. Options included going with the third-place finisher in Ward 2 from 2022, inviting eligible residents to declare an interest and letting council decide from there, or simply appointed a resident who held eligibility.
Mayor Olena Hankivsky had expressed a desire to invite interested candidates to come before council, but that option was also rejected in a 6-2 vote.
Mayor Olena Hankivsky had expressed a desire to invite interested candidates to come before council, but that option was also rejected in a 6-2 vote