By Kirk Starratt
One concerned citizen doesn’t think the County of Kings owes anybody an apology when it comes to a recent Supreme Court decision nullifying election results in District 8 and 11.
Nancy Denton Peck of Black River Road, a citizen watchdog of the county who attends council sessions regularly, spoke during the public comment period following the Jan. 15 session, said she found a comment from a member of the public at the last council meeting “perplexing.”
Peck said it’s her right as a singer and artist to interpret a song, but there shouldn’t be any ambiguity or room for interpretation when it comes to the Municipal Elections Act. She said council heard last week the municipality made mistakes and an apology is due.
“There shouldn’t be ambiguity in the Municipal Elections Act so we can have different interpretations,” Peck said. “It should be cut and dry.”
Peck said the province should apologize for having ambiguous legislation and hopefully, the situation in Kings would trigger change. She said if one person deserves an apology, it’s disqualified District 2 candidate Peter Jackson, who has no chance to run again. Jackson didn’t challenge the original decision of the returning officer to disallow his candidacy.
The province has indicated that it will review the Elections Act, if requested by municipalities.
During the public comment session on Jan. 8, Nancy Saul-Demers, one of the Supreme Court applicants, thanked council for not appealing the decision. She said wanted an apology from the municipality, not for herself, but for all those affected by mistakes made regarding the October election.
Special elections to fill the vacant council seats are scheduled for March 16, with advance polls March 9 and 12.
