by Sylene Argent
During the special meeting hosted on January 24, a majority Council vote selected Deputy Mayor Richard Meloche to take over the mayoral position for the Town of Essex, after former position holder Larry Snively resigned.
On Monday, January 31, Council hosted another special meeting to select a method, and appoint an individual, to fill the second highest position on Essex Council.
Ultimately, a majority Council vote decided to appoint someone from Council to the Deputy Mayor position, and further selected Councillor Steve Bjorkman for the job.
When discussing options on the method that could be used to select the position-holder, Director of Legislative Services/Clerk, Robert Auger, Council could have filled the position via a by-election, with April 28 being the earliest date for a by-election, or through appointment. If going to select the candidate through appointment, Council could have selected someone already on Council, from within the community, or a candidate from the 2018 Municipal Election.
Mayor Richard Meloche first asked if there was interest in a by-election. There was none and Council passed a motion noting that.
Council then had to decide how to fill the position, either from someone already on Council or from the community.
Councillor Kim Verbeek wanted to appoint someone outside of Council. No Councillor has been elected at large, which she felt is significant. The Deputy Mayor seat is an important position, and is about being an ambassador for the Town. As such, Councillor Sherry Bondy believes it should be someone who ran for the position.
Councillor Chris Vander Doelen wanted to appoint from within Council, someone already elected. He said someone is needed who understands Town business to represent Council at the County-level. Meloche and Councillors Joe Garon, Morley Bowman, and Bjorkman also believed the Deputy Mayor position should be appointed from within Council.
“It is a very important seat and a complicated position to be in,” Meloche said, “Because someone who is on Council already understands the Councillor role. They would only have to combat trying to get comfortable filling the Deputy Mayor seat at the County Council-level. [That is] much easier than trying to figure out what the roles are at County Council and what the roles are at Town Council. [That’s] double the reading they have to do to catch up to issues that are going on.”
A majority Council vote passed a motion to select the Deputy Mayor from within Council.
In looking for nominations for the Deputy Mayor position, Vander Doelen nominated Bjorkman for the position. Bjorkman accepted the nomination.
Councillor Joe Garon said he believed the position holder should be one of the more experienced Councillors, and nominated Bowman. Bowman thanked Garon for the nomination, and noted it was tempting to take on the position. He believes it would be much more prudent to have someone familiar with development going on in the south-end of the municipality. So, he declined the nomination.
Councillor Verbeek nominated Bondy for the Deputy Mayor position. She accepted the nomination.
Council allowed the two nominations to speak, explaining why they would like to take on the position.
Bondy said she is very up-to-speed on the development on the south-end. She has served on Council for three terms, and noted she won the last election by an overwhelming majority. In addition, her case work is all over the municipality. She said she has also been an advocate for businesses over the pandemic. Her website has been active, updating residents about Town happenings. She has also acquainted herself with County Council business, as she does have intentions of climbing the political ladder.
Bjorkman noted he has been a member of the community for 26-years, divided between Colchester North, Essex Centre, and Colchester Village. He served as the Essex Centre BIA Chairperson for three-years, before running for Council. Having lived, worked, and owned businesses in town has given him a real understanding for the uniqueness of each of the Town’s communities.
The Deputy Mayor is to be supportive of the Mayor, Bjorkman said. Partnerships between the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, CAO, and Town administration is key when working to secure investment and in building faith and trust with residents. These individuals can challenge each other in the meeting room, but must be united when it is time to sell it.
With two nominations on the table, Auger asked Council members to voice their opinion.
Meloche, Garon, Vander Doelen, Bowman, and Bjorkman voted for Bjorkman.
Bondy and Verbeek voted for Bondy.
With five votes, Bjorkman was appointed to the position of Deputy Mayor.
Council then passed a by-law confirming the appointment, then further declared Bjorkman’s Council seat, for Ward 3, as vacant.
Council will host a special meeting on February 7 to discuss how to fill the vacancy. Council noted it was not interested in hosting a by-election to fill the vacant Ward 3 position.