There was no shortage of interested Tecumseh residents looking for an appointment to Town Council.
The Town had put out a call to Ward 1 residents who wanted to apply to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Andrew Dowie, who was elected the new MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh on June 2. As of the Thursday deadline, eight people were listed on the Town's official website.
The next municipal election is set for October 24, so a by-election was quickly ruled out. To complicate matters, Mayor Gary McNamara told WindsorNewsToday.ca in June that since Dowie was acclaimed in the 2018 municipal election, there is no second-place contender to approach. The mayor also said councillors thought about leaving the position vacant, but the Ontario Municipal Act doesn't allow it.
“The legislation says we can’t do that, but if it would have been within the 90-day window prior, then we could do it,” McNamara explained at the time.
Councillors will now have a chance to review the papers submitted by the eight applicants, and the issue will be discussed, or even decided, at the next regular council meeting on Tuesday night.
Whoever is selected will fill the Ward 1 seat until November 14, before the next term begins.
The eight people who filed as of the Thursday deadline are Wess Bechard, Ryan Dhiman, Darrin Drouillard, Daniel Hofgartner, Manmander Matharu, Douglas McDougall, Doug Pitre, and Richard Zarour.
Hofgartner has filed to run for a full four-year term in Ward 1 in the October election. So far, the only other candidate to declare for the municipal election is Greater Essex County District School Board chairperson Alicia Higgison.
---with files from Adelle Loiselle
