Windsor City Council is expected to begin the process of finding a successor to former Councillor Fabio Costante.
Councillors are expected to officially declare the Ward 2 seat vacant at their meeting on Monday. Costante resigned to take a position as the new CEO of the Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation.
The Ontario Municipal Act requires municipalities to officially declare a vacancy and decide how to fill it, either through a by-election or appointment.
A report submitted to Council includes three choices to fill the seat.
The first two are by appointment. With the first choice, the City must provide a public notice inviting Ward 2 residents to submit an application. These would be accepted in person at the City Clerk's office between Monday, July 21, and Friday, August 1.
Then, a special City Council meeting would be convened to allow qualified candidates to give a presentation. Council members would then vote for their choice. Candidates with the fewest amount of votes would be eliminated in each round until one wins with a majority.
The second option is for people to nominate a candidate with the City Clerk. If more than one candidate expresses interest, a special council meeting will be held. At that point, Mayor Drew Dilkens will invite councillors to put forth the nominations. Voting will proceed as with option one.
The most recent City Council member to be appointed mid-term was Mike Patrick, who took the place of Howard McCurdy after McCurdy was elected to Parliament in 1984.
The third option is a by-election. If Council chooses that route, nominations will open on Monday, June 21, and end on Friday, September 12. The by-election would take place on Monday, October 27.
The report estimated that the cost of a by-election would be around $200,000.
The last time a by-election was held to fill a council vacancy was in 2019, when Irek Kusmierczyk resigned his Ward 7 seat after being elected to Parliament. With the COVID-19 pandemic delaying a vote, Jeewen Gill was elected in October 2020 to fill out Kusmierczyk's term, which ended in 2022.
Costante began his new job last week. For the time being, Ward 2 residents are urged to address any concerns with the mayor's office or the City's administration.