City of Brockville Seeks Members of the Public to Fill Council Vacancies – Kingston | The Canadian News

Brockville City Council is hanging the Help Needed Sign to fill two vacancies on the council.

The city is inviting eligible residents and former candidates to run for seats for the remainder of the term.

“Instead of actually going to those archives asking people to step up and say why they would like to be on the council, this could be a good time for people,” said Councilor Nathalie Lavergne.

The council was presented with three options to fill the seats: They could hold a by-election, select runners-up in the 2018 elections, or send an expression of interest to the public, which is what they ended up choosing.

However, not all were on board.

“I don’t think the previous elections are too old for us; obviously we’re all still here at the table. So I think going down the list is the most democratic thing we can do if we are not going to call an election by choice, “said Council Member Cameron Wales.

A by-election was considered the least favorable option, and the council said it would cost more than $ 80,000 and the results likely wouldn’t come until February.

Councilors who voted to open it to the public saw it as the fairest method to move forward.

“There could be several previous councilors; there could be people on the list. The people on the list could also express their interest. It’s up to us, because that’s what we were elected to do, to make decisions on behalf of the city, ”said Council Member Larry Journal.

The seats were vacated by former Mayor Jason Baker, who resigned, and Councilmember Leigh Bursey, who withdrew due to family health reasons.

The city aims to have the two new councilors in their seats in December.