Seven candidates have come forward to fill the ongoing vacancy on Midland council.
The list features a number of returning politicians as well as some fresh new faces.
Former councillor Bob Jeffery, who finished just out of the running for one of seven council positions during the 2022 election, wants another kick at the council can as does former deputy mayoral candidate Cody Oschefski, who lost to the late Jack Contin. Also running is former council candidate Eric (Howie) Major.
In the last election, Jeffery finished with 1,508 votes while Major had 1,360 votes with both men falling below the 1,718 votes acquired by current councillor Roberta Bald. Contin, meanwhile, defeated Oschefski by a vote of 2,817 to 2,237.
Others hoping to be considered by a majority of council members when they get together for a special meeting on March 27 include Jasmin (Jaz) Patel, Yvonne Tietz and Robert Thorpe.
Contin’s death last fall precipitated the need to find a new councillor after current councillors opted to elevate Beth Prost from her council seat to the deputy mayor’s chair earlier this winter.
That meant that during their council meeting on Valentine’s Day, councillors declared Prost's seat vacant and decided that they would fill the vacancy by appointment through a call for nominees in accordance with municipal policies rather than call a by-election.
Mayor Bill Gordon said this marks the first the town has opted for this process and a brand new procedure, inspired by those of other communities who have faced these challenges mid-term.
As for the March 27 meeting, Gordon said each candidate will be sequestered in a boardroom and one by one (random order chosen by the clerk at the meeting) they will be invited down to present to council for five minutes.
"This will be followed by a single question from me," Gordon said, noting council will have decided on the question ahead of time. "Once we have heard from every candidate, we will deliberate, all in public session, to narrow down the candidates that we want to advance to the next round."
While that would likely involve going from seven initial candidates to about three, they will again be sequestered.
"The clerk will randomly choose from those and invite them back down where each councillor will ask one question (the same question by the same councillor to each candidate) and once we have completed, we will proceed to voting by marking our choice."
Gordon said the process is much like a recorded vote, only this time councillors will say the name of their choice.
"All of this in public, there is no in-camera for this process, which may be uncomfortable for some councillors but is required under the Municipal Act," Gordon said. "The finalist with at least five votes is the winner.
"If we cannot get to five or more, then we eliminate the one with the lowest and proceed to vote again. If on the narrow chance we are at an impasse (4/4) the clerk has the unlucky job of drawing a name randomly. She dreads that possibility as do I."
Gordon said he hopes council will determine the best candidate in the first round.
"That will depend entirely on their ability to sell themselves to council and demonstrate why they, above the others would be best suited to serve the community and help us fulfill our mandate, strategic plan and objectives this term.
"This won't be an easy process, nor should it be. Presumably, each of these candidates believes that they are the best fit for this council and to represent the community and I expect each of them to come prepared to tell us why they believe that to be true.
"We are all looking forward to getting our council back to full strength and to keep moving ahead on the heavy work before us."
For his part, Oschefski seems to be lobbying hard for the position on social media where he is normally very active.
“This opportunity means a lot to me,” Oschefski tells his many Facebook followers. “Anyone who would like to help support me please don't hesitate to reach out!
“I hope people will call and email councillors as the day approaches. Any help SO SO appreciated. This is my dream job, serving the community of Midland!"
