MAYNOOTH – Council for the Municipality of Hastings Highlands had a hard time deciding how to fill a vacant council seat during their regular council meeting on August 23.
In early July, former councillor for the Bangor-Wicklow-McClure Ward 1, Bert Cannon, passed away while holding office. Council is now responsible for filling the vacant seat.
They looked at three options available to fill the seat. The first was to appoint the candidate who ran for the position in the most current election. That person is Frank Hickey. Option two was to fill the vacant seat with a call for nominees from the municipality, and the third option was to hold a by-election.
To start the discussion, Deputy Mayor Gregg Roberts moved that they go with option two, to open a call for nominees. Councillor Hald Robinson seconded that motion.
“It would be very minimal cost to go ahead and do that,” said Roberts.
He added that this option had nothing to do with Hickey taking the seat, he simply felt that with a possible new election format coming next year, it gives the option to somebody who wants to get involved to be on council for the remaining year of this term. They would have 12 to 16 months to get their feet wet and see if they’re interested in running again.
For more pick up a copy of the August 30, 2017 paper.