The Town of Wembley will be holding a byelection in the new year to fill a vacant seat on council.
The nomination period for this position ends January 31st, with a byelection taking place February 28th.
Town of Wembley Chief Administrative Officer Noreen Zhang says the byelection is the result of Sean McCallum resigning from council back on November 3rd.
“He recognized there was a need for him to step down from political office so he could concentrate more on his personal endeavours that he is looking at doing here in the upcoming years,” Zhang says. “So rather than being torn between personal commitment and political commitment, he just recognized that it was not fair if he decided to stay with Council of Wembley while trying to establish his personal endeavours he is trying to do.”
Zhang says for someone to be eligible to run for McCullum’s vacant seat they must have lived in Wembley for at least six months, and meet the other criteria set out in the Municipal Affairs Act. However before someone throws their hat into the ring, they need to know the time commitment that comes with being a town councillor.
“It’s not just a matter of attending some meetings, we do want to have somebody who will be able to put in the time and attention needed. So that, later on, they don’t realize ‘oops I didn’t expect it to be this much commitment from me,’ and resign only to spark another byelection.”
Zhang says the last byelection the town had was three and a half years ago and if they follow the same model the cost to the town will be the price of advertising and printing ballets. However, because of the price of printing, there isn’t an exact number at this time.
Anyone looking for more information is encouraged to check out the Town of Wembley website.Â