The resignation of Bill Caixeiro from his Ward 3 seat on Essex council means a 'Help Wanted' sign is going up at town hall.
As AM800 News reported this morning, Essex Mayor Ron McDermott announced at last night's town council meeting that Caixeiro was resigning for reasons unknown.
Council is set to receive a report at its next meeting, set for July 17, to go over options for filling the vacancy.
There are two main options councillors will have to consider — appointing a new councillor or holding a by-election.
Manager of Legislative Services and Town Clerk Rob Auger says typically when councils choose to make an appointment, the results from the previous election are relied on.
"It's up to council," says Auger. "Council could, in their wisdom, decide not to look at the prior results and look to appoint someone else — that is possible. But, historically most council's will simply rely on the 2014 election results and I think that's simply the most democratic way of approaching it."
If council decide to go to the voters with a by-election, Auger says it could be a while before a councillor takes up the vacant Ward 3 seat.
"Probably, realistically, looking at the end of October maybe even the beginning of November for filling that seat. Certainly, some of the comments brought forward by council seem to suggest that there's a desire to fill that a lot sooner than that," says Auger.
Former Essex councillor John Scott missed re-election in 2014, finishing seven votes behind Caixeiro while Paul Innes finished fourth in the Ward 3 race.
Auger says Scott would typically be the likely choice if council were to appoint the next councillor, but Scott now lives in Windsor.
"As directed by council, we would need to look at that. So, if he's not a resident, then the next question would be, 'Does he own property or does his spouse own property?' — which would then make him an eligible voter," says Auger. "If that's not the case then I guess council could consider the next candidate underneath that."
Auger says the main requirements to be an Essex councillor are being 18 years old, a Canadian citizen and a resident of Essex — or at the very least owning property in the town.
If a by-election is called on July 17, council needs to give 60 days for a nomination period and then 45 days from the nomination deadline for election day.