INNISFAIL – There won’t be a byelection to fill the vacant seat on town council in the wake of the passing of popular council member Don Harrison.
At council’s regular meeting on Nov. 12 a report was presented by Todd Becker, the town’s chief administrative officer, outlining council’s options going forward following the Nov. 1 passing of councillor Harrison, who was first elected in 2020 in a byelection and then again the following year in the general municipal election.
Innisfail council normally functions with seven members, a mayor and six councillors. It now has the mayor and five councillors.
One option outlined by Becker was to go ahead with a byelection to fill the vacant seat.
Becker’s report noted it would require the appointment of a returning officer, setting of nomination and election dates, and other resources in accordance with the Local Authorities Election Act.
The second option presented was to leave the seat vacant, which would require council to pass a resolution under Section 162 of the Municipal Government Act (MGA) to allow the vacancy to remain until the next general municipal election on Oct. 20, 2025.
Becker’s recommended motion was for council to approve leaving the council member position vacant until the scheduled election next fall.
Council unanimously approved Becker's motion.
“By the time we get a byelection complete it would likely be springtime, and then you're back into another election in October. It's costly to hold a byelection,” said mayor Jean Barclay. “If it would have been two years out we likely would have had to do something different.”
