By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—Following the sudden resignation of Ward 4 Councillor Natalie Stam for health-related reasons, Haldimand County found itself with two options to replace her – a by-election or a Council-selected appointee. Council debated the subject at a committee meeting last week, where councillors largely supported staff’s recommendation to hold a by-election.
Mayor Shelley Ann Bentley said that herself and the five remaining ward councillors have received a flurry of emails and phone calls, both for and against holding a by-election.
“Previous Councillor Stam won the election by 66% and clearly Ward 4 wanted change,” said Bentley. “As a new Council, we discuss democracy and transparency on a regular basis, and I believe we should show Ward 4 that their voices do matter to the rest of Haldimand County. Toronto is having a by-election currently, Hamilton just held their by-election. I believe staff have come up with a recommendation and I appreciate that. We really need to give Ward 4 their chance to speak.”
Ward 1 Councillor Stew Patterson was the lone voice at Council who spoke in favour of choosing appointment over a by-election, citing his research into the issue and noting that there are no regulations on which route Council should choose unless the vacancy occurs after March 31 of the final year of the Council term, at which point appointment is mandatory.
“As far as being transparent or the democratic process, I believe that is achieved through the appointment process,” explained Patterson. “Say there are four folks who want to run for Ward 4. They can have the opportunity, they can address Council, they can get support from residents, they can influence their councillors.”
Patterson said that leaving the seat vacant for an extended period will do more harm than good, and noted that Stam only ran against former Councillor Tony Dalimonte. He added, “To me, it would be a no-brainer if we had multiple candidates who ran in the last election, if we had three or four. We had two.”
County Clerk Evelyn Eichenbaum explained the two options available to Council if they chose appointment: “They can choose to appoint a specific individual, which has been suggested here could be the second-place candidate. Or, they could choose to have an open appointment process. We would essentially open it up to anyone in the county and have a specific date for accepting applications.”
Ward 5 Councillor Rob Shirton expressed support for the idea of appointment, but ultimately erred on the side of by-election, citing the early state of the current term, adding, “I did get quite a few emails and calls and it was great to see the community interest.”
Ward 3 Councillor Dan Lawrence spoke about his respect for Dalimonte, but ultimately voted for a by-election: “We all worked well with Councillor Dalimonte. He wasn’t in this chair for decades by accident.… I respect our former colleague and friend, Tony Dalimonte, beyond belief. He’s been a good councillor. The way I’m going, I’ll make it known, is that I’m voting for a by-election. I think that we have to.”
Lawrence said appointing Dalimonte or anyone else to the seat would be the “simplest decision” to deal with the vacancy, but not the right one, noting, “With all the opinions out there and the length of time before the next election, three-and-a-half years, do we as a Council, do we arbitrarily pick that person to sit in that seat?”
One of the cited benefits of an appointment is the cost savings compared to a by-election, projected to cost between $30-45,000 at a time where inflation is significantly impacting the County’s overall budget. County CAO Craig Manley shot down that concern, with a to-the-point rebuttal.
“I think the cost issue has to be considered with respect to what is the price of local democracy,” said Manley. “The cost that’s being provided is the cost of running a proper election to make sure that everybody that has an opportunity can put their name forward and that the citizens of the county are in fact hiring the next Council member.”
He noted the estimated cost is based proportionally on the general election budget. Manley added, “The issue for Council is: should cost really drive the fundamental policy decision that you’re being asked to make, which is, ‘What is the best way, the most representative way, the most transparent way, of selecting the person who will replace Councillor Stam?’ While the cost is something, I don’t believe it should be determinative.”
Council voted 5-1 in favour of holding a by-election. A bylaw was passed on March 27 authorizing the by-election. The nomination period is now open, with the last day to announce a nomination set for May 5, 2023 and voting day taking place on Monday, June 19.
In the meantime, the mayor’s office continues to handle concerns and requests from Ward 4 residents.
Stay tuned to The Press for more details on the by-election as the story develops.
