By Chris Lewis | Jan/ 14, 2021
Despite two vacancies on council, Mount Pearl residents need not expect a by-election anytime soon.
At Tuesday’s public meeting, councillor Bill Antle raised the issue, noting the concerns that have been raised about it in the community.
The vacancies date back to last June when councillors Andrea Power and Andrew Ledwell saw their seats declared vacant by their colleagues amid allegations they had privately discussed a Human Resources investigation with its subject, the then Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Steve Kent. He too was fired by council.
Current CAO Mona Lewis explained that because both Ledwell and Power have filed appeals against the City’s decision to vacate their seats, a by-election cannot be held until the matter is settled.
“The matter is now going through the courts,” Lewis said. “We have reached out to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and received approval to defer the election, either until the appeals are heard and gotten a decision there, or a year since the seats were vacated, which was June 30.”
Beyond that, Lewis could not provide any further information.
Mayor Dave Aker said the City secured legal counsel as it made its way through the court process, but did not know whether this would be considered fast or slow for a usual court appeal.
“We can speak as to what has happened in terms of the timelines and where it’s going, but in terms of any decisions that are forthcoming down the road, we can’t speak to that,” Aker said. “We await the results of the proceedings.”
Councillor Lucy Stoyles noted that Mount Pearl was not the first municipality to experience this kind of situation.
“Until everything is set, we cannot have a by-election and fill two seats,” she said. “That’s up to the courts to decide if those two councillors could win their case and come back. So, that’s why we cannot just fill a seat. We don’t know yet what a judge is going to say about if the seat is vacant or not.”
Lewis noted the matter is scheduled for court on Thursday, February 3.
That, Deputy Mayor Jim Locke added, is when they hope to set an actual date to hear the appeal before the court.
