Victoria byelection likely this fall: Helps
The City of Victoria will likely hold a byelection this fall to fill a vacant council seat, barring a second wave of COVID-19, Mayor Lisa Helps said Wednesday.
Helps said staff will bring a report to council in September with possible dates and recommendations on how to proceed.
“It’s going to be a complex operation to do this in a way that keeps everybody safe, but we’ll work with WorkSafe and the health folks and everybody else to make sure that it goes well and that we can hold the byelection just as soon as possible,” she said in an interview.
Municipal Affairs Minister Selina Robinson postponed the Victoria byelection in March to protect residents from the spread of COVID-19.
She also deferred byelections in Rossland and Lytton as well as a referendum in Kamloops.
“After consulting with our public-health officials and local governments, I have signed a ministerial order postponing byelections and referendums in these communities, so they can focus on protecting their residents,” Robinson said at the time.
The Victoria and Rossland byelections and the Kamloops referendum were slated to take place April 4.
The Lytton byelection was scheduled for April 25.
Robinson’s ministry released new guidelines on Wednesday to help municipalities safely hold byelections during the pandemic.
The advice includes suggestions that local governments consider providing more mail-in ballot options, curbside voting or additional advanced voting opportunities.
As well, the guidelines say municipalities should select voting places that allow people to cast ballots in person while still maintaining proper physicaldistance from others.
“The ministry is working directly with local governments to ensure each community will have the election guidance, advice and options it needs to make its own decisions about how to safely proceed with election processes,” the ministry said in a statement.
Helps said city staff will review the ministry’s advice and decide how to proceed.
“Our staff has been working really closely with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to understand the timing of when these guidelines would be coming, so it’s good to see them out and now we can begin to plan,” she said.
Prior to the postponement, nine candidates were competing for the Victoria council seat vacated by Laurel Collins, who resigned from council after winning the Victoria riding for the NDP in last year’s federal election.