BY NANCY KELLY
Kings County Advertiser/Register
New dates for a second round of nominations and voting have been set for Kingston.
Following a first attempt to fill the empty commission seat at the village’s June 8 annual meeting, the commission met June 22 to look at a citizen request to re-open nominations and reschedule the election to lend “fairness and transparency” to the process.
Incumbent commissioner Doug Beaman dropped out of the race when a last-minute advance poll was added to the voting procedure. Cory Lingard was to be acclaimed to the seat at the AGM, but the widely supported motion from the floor calling for an election do-over put the brakes on the plan.
During the June 22 meeting, commissioners met with their solicitor, seeking advice on what would be a precedent-setting move.
“Based on the advice of our solicitor, we will proceed with another election,” says village clerk-treasurer Greg Towne.
Under rules governing village elections set out by the Municipal Government Act, the earliest possible nomination date would be July 14, with an election two weeks after. But scheduling conflicts and staff vacation issues figured into the selection of suitable dates for the two-step procedure.
Acknowledging summertime as a difficult time to schedule meetings, Chairman Tom Beardsley suggested, “staying away from Mondays and Fridays” to encourage more participation among village residents.
“I say we set a date post haste and get on with it,” urged Commissioner Lorne Reid. Commissioner Martha Armstrong agreed; adding, “this is the only possible option. It is what the residents want.”
After discussion, it was decided nomination day will be July 21 and an election, should two or more candidates declare interest in the commission seat, be held Aug. 5, with voting to take place at the village office from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
A review of village bylaws after the AGM indicated there is no policy or mechanism in place to allow advance polling. In view of this recently discovered detail, no advance poll will be held.
