In the wake of last week’s by-election, Chatham-Kent Council will now have to decide how to fill the seat left vacant by East Kent Councillor Steve Pinsonneault.
Pinsonneault was elected as the new MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex on Thursday, thus abdicating a seat on council that he has held for nearly 20 years.
Judy Smith, CK’s director of municipal governance and clerk, said as per the Municipal Act, a report will be presented to council during a meeting on May 13, officially declaring the seat empty and outlining options for filling the position.
She said council will be asked to pick one of two options.
“One would be to appoint a person and the other would be to hold a by-election,” she said. “It would be council’s decision on which way to proceed.”
While the process for appointing someone to fill a vacancy on council is not outlined in the Municipal Act, the candidate must reside or own property within the municipality, must be a Canadian citizen, and must be 18 years of age or older.
“They could appoint a runner-up from the last election, or invite interested persons to apply, or offer an appointment to a member of the community. All of that will be outlined in the report to council,” said Smith.
The runner-up in Ward 3/East Kent from the last municipal election in 2022 was Moréna McDonald.
Should council vote to move forward with a by-election, Smith said it would likely take 70 to 90 days to complete once staff has been given direction. She added that the cost to hold the by-election would be around $75,000, which would be allocated from funds that have already been set aside for municipal elections.
Whoever is chosen to replace Councillor Pinsonneault will join current Councillor John Wright in representing Ward 3.
