Timeline for filling Oshawa council vacancy set
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
The timeline for filling the vacant seat left behind by the resignation of Councillor Bob Chapman has been set by Oshawa city council.
The decision was made during council’s regular meeting on April 30, and lays out the key dates moving forward for filling the seat.
First, a public meeting is set to be held on May 10 to allow for members of the public to comment on how they believe the seat should be filled.
The previous decision of council to fill the vacant seat left behind by the death of Councillor Nancy Diamond saw a public outcry from members of the public as being too quick and lacking transparency.
Following the public meeting, council will choose their option for filling the seat in a meeting on May 22, before actually appointing an individual to the seat on June 25, or in a special meeting on June 28. At that same time, if required, council will appoint an individual to fill the city council seat. This decision will be required if council follows a similar path to their previous appointment which saw Councillor Doug Sanders appointed to a regional councillor role before Councillor Gail Bates was brought in to fill the city council seat.
During the meeting, Councillor Rick Kerr questioned whether the process could possible be expedited after hearing from the public.
“Should a very clear path come forward following that, is it possible that we could appoint the individual sooner than June?” he queried.
However, city clerk Andrew Brouwer noted that the timeline is set under the recently approved Council Vacancy Policy. Following that, the timeline was approved unanimously.
Mayor John Henry says it’s comfortable with the timeline as it stands.
“I’m happy that we have an appropriate process,” he says. “The timeline was set in the recommendation from the clerk and that’s what is felt is needed so I’m content with the recommendation.”
Council also used the meeting to fill some of the roles left vacant by Chapman’s departure as he resigned to pursue his candidacy for the PC party in the upcoming provincial election.
Councillor John Neal was voted in unanimously as the new chair of the Community Services Committee, and Councillor John Shields was appointed on a split vote against Councillor Nester Pidwerbecki as the vice-chair of the committee with Councillors Rick Kerr, Amy McQuaid-England, Gail Bates and Neal in support.
A few of Chapman’s other roles were also in question at the committee, but Councillor Dan Carter attempted to defer those roles, including positions on the boards for the Central Lake Conservation Authority, and Robert McLaughlin Gallery, along with a seat on the Multicultural Council of Oshawa, to a later meeting to allow for the new appointment to fill some of the positions.
However, the idea drew the criticism from other members of council.
“I think there’s something very important here and that’s the optics of the situation,” Kerr said. “I think the optics are if we don’t think it’s important enough to put a poerson in that position now…I think that speaks less than effectively of our role with these organizations.”
Following a decision to refer the CLOCA appointment back to staff for clarification on whether a city councillor could fill the role, the motion to defer the remaining appointments lost. Councillor Kerr was then appointed to the Multicultural Council and McQuaid-England to the RMG board.
Correction: This story has been updated from a previous version that incorrectly stated John Neal had been appointed as chair and vice chair of the Community Services Committee. John Neal was appointed as chair of the committee while Councillor John Shields was appointed as vice chair. The Oshawa Express regrets the error and any confusion it caused.