WESTLOCK - With a last-minute nominee, the Village of Clyde has formed a new council without an election.
While the initial nomination deadline was Sept. 20, insufficient nominations were received prompting CAO Ron Cust to extend the nomination deadline throughout the course of last week under Section 31 of the Local Authorities Elections Act.
The deadline continued to be extended until today, Sept. 27, when Donna Moore became the fifth to let her name stand. Moore says she read an article on Town and Country Today and learned that the village was short a candidate, which inspired her to put her name forward.
Joining Moore on council are Starla Sydia, Charis Logan, Patricia Hamaluk, and Jerry Austin. All five are new to municipal politics.
If a fifth candidate hadn't been found, Cust says he would have sought guidance from the Minister of Municipal Affairs as to what to do next.
“We’re really thankful for the other councillors that served for so many years and the community that stepped up and put their names forward to serve in this capacity,” said Cust as all five incumbents declined to let their names stand.
Cust said that at council's organizational meeting in October a new mayor will be elected from the group — although there won't be an election, Oct. 18 serves as the switchover date between the former and new council.
Councillors will also go through an orientation day where they are taught about their role and responsibilities.
“They’ll do well when we get them up to speed,” Cust concluded.
