The Town of Essex will hold a by-election to fill the position of Ward 3 councillor following the resignation of Bill Caixeiro.
During its meeting Monday evening, council voted 4-2 in favour of the by-election, over the option of appointing someone to fill the former councillor's seat.
Mayor Ron McDermott says he's disappointed with the decision, adding he would have rather avoided the cost that the by-election will incur.
"I was against it. I don't want to spend $12,000 or $15,000 or $20,000 on an election when we can appoint someone," he says. "We've made the decision as a council and I'll live with it. I didn't agree with it, buy hey, we're a council."
McDermott says the councillors who voted in favour of the by-election felt it was the most democratic way of filling the position, which was left vacant when Caixeiro resigned during council’s July 3 meeting, citing personal reasons.
The town clerk has been asked to draft a report on how to proceed with the by-election process, which will be presented to council in two weeks. The report will also detail an approximate cost of the by-election, which could reach $15,000.
According to another report already given to council, the bylaw declaring a byelection in Ward 3 could be signed on August 8, with nomination day following on September 22. The election would then take place on November 6.
-With files from Adelle Loiselle