Essex residents will have to wait a little longer to find out who will fill the empty Ward 3 seat.
On Monday night, council voted to take applications to fill the role left vacant by Steve Bjorkman who was appointed to the deputy mayor's seat after Richard Meloche shifted into the mayor's role.
Two councillors represent Ward 3 in Essex — Chris Vander Doelen is the other councillor.
He says he's been convinced the application process is the way to go.
"A few weeks ago I didn't agree with this application process. I thought it might get a little nuts, but I've since been persuaded it's the way to go as I don't think we're going to get that many submissions. I think they're going to be self-selecting to people who really deserve to have these jobs."
Vander Doelen says he'd like to see someone from the ward selected.
"From what I've heard from constituents is they really want somebody who lives in the ward. I don't think it would be very good on our part to appoint somebody from another ward to represent a ward if they don't live there."
He says there's lots of talented people in the town who could do the job well.
"I'm convinced that we're going to get, I bet, a handful of really good people. There's good experienced people out there. I'm getting lots of positive feedback from our constituents. They like that there hasn't been a by-election. They didn't think it was necessary and they're happy so far."
The town will begin taking applications on February 14 with a plan to hold a special meeting at the end of the month where council will hear from potential candidates before making a decision.
The shake up around the council table began when former mayor Larry Snively resigned last month after pleading guilty to a charge under the Municipal Elections Act.