Meaford council has voted in favour of appointing a replacement to fill the vacant council seat left after the recent departure of three-term councillor Steve Bartley.
During their September 22 meeting, council was presented with a 17-page report outlining the options available for filling the vacancy.
With just a year left before the next municipal election campaign, holding a by-election was quickly ruled out by council, who opted instead to support the appointment of a replacement.
“On August 19, 2025, written notice of resignation was provided to the Clerk’s office by Councillor Steven Bartley, effective September 3, 2025. As required by the Municipal Act, a resolution of Council is needed to declare the seat vacant, which Council did on September 8, 2025. Council has two options to fill a vacancy, being to appoint a person who has consent to accept the office or to call a by-election,” staff advised council in their report.
For appointing a new member council was presented with two options.
Council was advised that they could fill the vacancy by appointing the candidate who ran for the position in the most current municipal election (2022), who received the most votes but was not elected, or they could call for nominees, and then make an appointment from the pool of residents who apply.
Councillors Brandon Forder and Harley Greenfield were both in favour of appointing a candidate based on the 2022 municipal election results, while the other four members of council supported an open call for nominees which would be followed by a council appointment.
“It’s three years now, it’s quite a long time,” Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney told council. “Our issues are different now than they were at the time when we were all candidates (for the 2022 municipal election).”
Keaveney noted that 2022 candidates might not necessarily be interested in taking on the position with less than a year before the next municipal election campaign begins.
“In my mind this is an open opportunity for anybody who ran (in 2022), any prior members of council, any folks in the community that have an interest. In my mind it’s fair, and it allows people from the public to come and express their interest, and to have the opportunity to apply for this seat,” Keaveney told council.
Council supported the open call for nominees option for appointing a new member of council with a 4-2 vote.
This option allows any eligible elector to submit an application to the municipal Clerk expressing their interest in filling the vacancy.
In their report, staff advised that notice will be posted regarding the council vacancy for a minimum of ten business days, indicating council’s intention to appoint an individual to fill the vacancy and outline the application process.
“All applications would be reviewed by the Clerk to ensure eligibility of the applicant. A special meeting of Council would be called to consider the applications in open session, allowing each candidate an opportunity to read a statement regarding their interest and qualifications to fill the vacancy,” staff advised in their report to council.
