Voters to decide next municipal councillor

Gordon Brock

Speaker Editor

TEMAGAMI – Polls are open in Temagami from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. today ,Thursday, August 18, as voters in that municipality have the opportunity to vote in an unprecedented by-election.

The Temagami Public Library, located at 7 Lakeshore Drive, is the lone polling station although throughout the summer eligible voters have had the opportunity to mail-in their ballots.

Late last week Temagami municipal clerk Elaine Gunnell told The Speaker the municipality has “received a substantial amount” of returned ballots. She estimates the figure at 707 and notes there are 1,873 eligible voters for this by-election.

The four candidates vying for the one council seat are, in alphabetical order, Annette Cloutier, Paul Middleton, Marvyn James Morrison and Ron Prefasi.

The by-election was necessitated as council could not agree on appointing someone to fill the vacancy caused when councillor and deputy mayor John Kenrick resigned in mid-March.

Traditionally in Temiskaming council vacancies are filled by council appointment.

According to Temiskaming Speaker records dating back to the turn of the 20th century, this is the first municipal by-election in this area’s political history.

The library will be closed to accommodate the vote.

A story in The Speaker earlier this year said municipal staff estimate the cost of the by-election to range from $8,000 to $10,000.

Canadian citizens 18 years and older are eligible to vote providing they live in the municipality or own property or are the spouse of someone who lives and/or owns property in the municipality.

The winner of the by-election will sit on council until the end of the term in 2018. The next general Ontario municipal elections are scheduled for October 22 of that year.

The online version of The Speaker plans to post the results election night.