City Hall moving quickly to fill newly vacated council seat
With newly elected London West MP Arielle Kayabaga moving to Ottawa soon, it leaves her Ward 13 seat on London city council vacant.
However City Hall already has wheels in motion to fill the void and possibly the seat.
“In anticipation of all contingencies the ever-ready clerks in our office have put together a number of options,” says London Mayor Ed Holder. “The seat will be declared officially vacant and then we will consider the options like anything from a byelection to appointing someone to leaving the seat vacant.”
The seat could also be given to the man who came in second to Kayabaga in the last municipal election, John Fyfe-Millar.
“It has been a passion of mine, I would absolutely take it,” says Fyfe-Millar. “I’ve wanted this job for a minimum of seven years, I ran in 2014, came second, I ran in 2018, came second and I personally believe I’m a logical choice.”
In 2014 city council did appoint a former politician who didn’t plan on running again to fill a seat. This after former mayor Joe Fontana stepped down due to criminal charges. Councillor Joni Baechler was appointed mayor and her ward was given to the late Russ Monteith.
The matter now goes to the Corporate Services Committee and the next meeting for that is slated for October 12. However council could decide to make a decision sooner.
“Personally I don’t think there’s an appetite for a byelection simply because we just had an election,” says Holder. “I just don’t see that the electorate justify nor could I justify the expense of putting people through that.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.