New and familiar faces consider run for Council vacancy

July 9, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

Familiar faces are looking to fill the vacancy left on Council by MPP Chris Ballard.

Former councillor Bob McRoberts confirms to The Auroran that he will be applying to fill the eighth Council seat for the remainder of the 2010-2014 term of office. Mr. McRoberts, who served as deputy mayor during the 2006-2010 Council term could also be joined in the running by Grace Marsh who served as councillor from 2006 – 2008, before resigning mid-term to be replaced with incumbent Councillor John Gallo.

Over the past two years, Mr. McRoberts has often been present in the Council chamber looking on as a spectator and says he has often found himself itching to throw in his “two cents.”

“I care about what happens in Aurora, having lived here almost all of my life,” says Mr. McRoberts. “I would like to be a part of the decision-making. I find the shortness of this interim position attractive. There have been a bunch of occasions this term when I have sat in the gallery wishing I was at the table to put in my two cents worth and, overall, I feel that I have had a chance to recharge my batteries since the last term and regain my sense of humour.”

Mr. McRoberts did not seek re-election in 2010. In the meantime, he says it has been like “hitting the refresh button” on the computer and he has regained a “fresh outlook” on the issues that are going on in Aurora today.

“In 2010, I just felt at the time I needed a break,” he says. “I needed to step back and see what parts of my life I might be missing, given the time commitment and just other components of my life, [but] I care about what goes on. I have urges every so often of wanting to be a part of what they are talking about, but I don’t feel I want to commit to four years worth of that. I am finding the short term of this position to be attractive.”

Although she has not, at press time, definitively decided whether or not to seek the vacant Council seat for the remainder of the term, Ms. Marsh says she is “seriously considering” it and views it as a way to give back to the community.

“I am thinking about it because I am not running for Council in the fall and I have made that decision,” she says. “This would be a way to give back to the community I didn’t finish serving the last time. It would be an opportunity for me to give back in a small repayment for not finishing my term the last time.

“I am pretty up to speed on the issues, there is no learning curve for me, I have kept in touch with pretty much everything that is going on because [I serve on] the Committee of Adjustment, so I think I am a good candidate.”

Looking back over her two years on Council, Ms. Marsh recalls it being “a losing battle” and a “toxic work environment,” an issue clouded by what she describes as her “concern about a number of threats of lawsuits.” That being said, she says she fully anticipates being asked by Councillors – and indeed the public – of why she wouldn’t “quit again.”

“I will simply say, ‘I am standing before you today committing to finish this term,’” she says. “I wouldn’t make the commitment if I didn’t intend to finish it. My desire to serve the community has never lessened and that is probably the biggest thing for me. I have done it through other means like the Committee of Adjustment and the Rotary Club, but I still have that will to serve. I do feel like helping out this Council in the spot they are in is a way to give back and I think it is unselfish.”

The spot is this: Whether they like it or not, Council is required by Provincial legislation to fill Mr. Ballard’s seat within 60 days of it being declared vacant. That clock began counting down on June 24.

Although Councillors were nearly unanimous in arguing what they felt was a lack of logic and common sense in having to fill the seat with only a handful of Council meetings left until the new Council is sworn in in December, legislation is the legislation and they opted to fill the vacancy at the July 29 Council meeting.

There, those who have applied for the position will have three minutes to make their respective pitches to Mayor Dawe and the remaining seven Councillors, who will then each have the opportunity to ask two questions of the candidates, and deliberations over who will ultimately be appointed to the post will be done at the Council table in public view.

Although Councillor Wendy Gaertner spoke in favour of simply moving down the line of non-elected candidates from the 2010 election to fill the seat, the process described was approved 7 – 1 with Councillor Evelyn Buck voting against it.

First-time Council candidate Svetla Topouzova also says she is putting her name forward for consideration on July 29. She says this is an “excellent opportunity” for anyone looking to join Council.

“This is a very good opportunity for anyone who wants to serve as a Councillor, to step forward and make a presentation about what he or she believes will be their role as Councillor,” she said.

Also sensing an opportunity is first-time candidate Harold Kim. While he is not necessarily of the view that someone in the running for the October election should be appointed for the interim position, if it is a possibility he wants to be in the thick of it.

“I don’t think I have much of a choice than to go ahead and present myself as a candidate for the position,” he says. “I think Council will vote for someone who is not going to be running. If the person came in and said they weren’t going to be running, and then changed their mind, I think in the public’s eye, their integrity will be challenged.”

While he says it is important for Council, and the public, to know he is a candidate, he wants to make his position clear on the appointment.

“I think I should be right there in the top from professional and practical experiences,” he says. “If it does give you an advantage, then why not leverage that? It is my hope that someone who is not planning on running get that position, but I think it is important to know where I stand from an integrity perspective.

The candidates in positions nine, 10, and eleven – former councillors Stephen Granger, Al Wilson and Evelina MacEachern, respectively – did not respond by press time to questions on whether they were interested in stepping up to fill the seat.