A vacant council seat in the Town of Essex will be filled, at least for now, by a political newcomer.
Essex Town Council appointed Jason Matyi to the vacant Ward 3 seat during its meeting Monday evening.
Matyi's appointment took place after two rounds of voting among council members. Each member was allowed to nominate one of the eight candidates still running for the position. Councillors Sherry Bondy, Kim Verbeek, and Joe Garon nominated Matyi. Former councillor Bill Caixiero was nominated by Mayor Richard Meloche, and Councillors Morley Bowman and Chris Vander Doelen. Tradesman Mac Goslin was vouched for by Deputy Mayor Steve Bjorkman.
Goslin was eliminated after the first round of nominations, and Bjorkman endorsed Matyi for a 4-3 tally over Caixiero.
The naming of Matyi to the Ward 3 vacancy is the climax of a chain of events begun by the resignation of Mayor Larry Snively after he pleaded guilty to violating provincial election laws. Meloche, who was deputy mayor at the time, ran council meetings until he was appointed as mayor. The Ward 3 council seat was left empty by Bjorkman's subsequent appointment as deputy mayor.
A total of ten people submitted applications for the vacancy. Two of them, former Mayor Ron McDermott and former Councillor Ron Rogers, withdrew their names last week when applicants presented their credentials to the council.
Matyi will serve on the council until the upcoming municipal election in October. Meloche thanked all of the applicants Monday night and encouraged them to consider running in the fall.
The new councillor is a frequent volunteer with multiple organizations in Windsor-Essex. According to his nomination application, he has worked with Scouts Canada and volunteered with the Southern Ontario Military Muster. He is pursuing a degree in engineering from the University of Windsor.
