Former Sidney ward councillor and unsuccessful 2022 Mayoral candidate Karen Sharpe will return to Quinte West council.
But before the final decision much debate was had about what to do with the vacant seat on Quinte West City Council.
The Sidney Ward seat was left vacant after Councillor Terry Cassidy passed away.
Cassidy passed away at the age of 73 after a battle with cancer.
Cassidy’s passing left council with two options with how to fill the seat.
Either a by-election would be held or council would appoint an eligible elector.
Two councillors voted in favour of holding a by-election, Don Kuntze and Shelley Stedall.
Before a recorded vote, Kuntze explained his reasoning on supporting a motion for a by-election, stating a similar experience council faced in 2008.
“I first ran in 2006 and I finished fifth place myself in that election and I was fifth or the next in line,” Kuntze explained to council.
“Then on February 10, 2008, longtime Sidney Councillor Doreen Reed passed away and the council of the day that was under Mayor John Williams at the time … Terry Cassidy, who himself proposed a notice of motion for a by-election, and it was a unanimous vote that the by-election was going to be held. I have to say going through that experience, that was the best thing for me.”
Kuntze said in his mind, an election in a democratic society was “the way to go.”
Councillor Don Kuntze explaining why he supports a by-election to determine the next councillor of Sidney Ward. February 8, 2023. (Photo: Zach McGibbon/Quinte News)
Shelly Stedall echoed the sentiments from Kuntze, saying that a by-election would be the most democratic solution.
Ultimately, 10 members of council opposed the motion for a by-election. These included councillors Duncan Armstrong, Michael Kotsovos, Sally Freeman, David O’Neill, Egerton Boyce, Zack Card, Lynda Reid, David McCue, Deputy Mayor Jim Alyea and Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison.
Also before the recorded vote, Councillor Egerton Boyce explained his reasoning why he would be against the motion.
He explained a similar situation he faced when he was a city councillor for Belleville and also said he feels the public spoke in the most recent election, given how close the votes were between the candidates who were not elected.
“The vote differential between second and fifth place is 110 votes which is a very small margin. The votes between getting in as a fourth place position and the fifth place position was a matter of 38 votes and 38 votes in some municipalities is almost a recount,” Boyce said.
Boyce also stated that from what he was hearing, people were talking about budgets and not the election of a councillor.
“The last thing I’m hearing from people is spending more money on a process that occurred in October and now you want to do it again,” Boyce said.
Councillor Zack Card voted against the motion but explained before the recorded vote that it was a tough decision and it wasn’t simply “one plus one equals two.”
Card explained that he was initially attracted to a by-election option, but decided against it based on the staff report on the cost of a by-election.
“With the staff report that was published and the cost of that election, being as much as the entire one that we had in October, in a time of extreme belt tightening, escalating city debt and inflation I just can’t support the by-election at this time,” Card said.
Councillor Zack Card said he was initially leaning towards a by-election but ultimately decided to go ahead with elector appointment. February 8. 2023. (Photo: Zach McGibbon/Quinte News)
In the staff report, it was stated that a by-election would cost between $70,000 and $105,000 depending on the methods chosen.
The final recorded vote was 10-2 against a by-election.
Council then moved on to the appointment of an eligible elector, beginning with former councillor Al Dewitt who finished just out of the running in fifth place in Sidney Ward in October’s municipal election.
The recorded vote was split down the middle, 6-6. This meant that Dewitt would not be named the newest councillor for Sydney Ward.
Members of council who voted yes to Dewitt included Deputy Mayor Jim Alyea, Egerton Boyce, Zack Card, Michael Kotsovos, David McCue and Mayor Jim Harrison.
Members of council who voted no included Duncan Armstrong, Sally Freeman, Don Kuntze, David O’Neil, Lynda Reid and Shelley Stedall.
The next motion was for Karen Sharpe to be appointed councillor for Sidney Ward.
Sharpe had previously been on council for Sidney Ward for the last two terms sitting on several committees including the Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee, the Agricultural Advisory Committee and was at one time the Chair of Finance and Corporate Services.
She did not run for her ward in the October municipal election but instead ran for mayor where she came in second to Jim Harrison.
Members of council who voted yes to Sharpe included Duncan Armstrong, Sally Freeman, Don Kuntze, David O’Neil, Lynda Reid, Shelley Stedall, Michael Kotsovos and Zack Card
Members of council who voted no included Deputy Mayor Jim Alyea, Egerton Boyce David McCue and Mayor Jim Harrison
Much was said about the process of the appointment.
Councillor Shelley Stedall said she did not believe in the basis of next in line in naming a new councillor.
“I believe that COVID showed us that to change and to improve makes us better and makes us stronger and makes us work together,” Stedall said.
“So I do not believe the foundation that’s being used and the basis for the decision making as ‘this is the way that I’ve always done it or we’ve always done it’ should be a sound reason.”
Councillor Shelley Stedall explaining why she is not in favour of next in line in determining the next councillor for Sidney Ward. February 8, 2023. (Photo: Zach McGibbon/Quinte News)
There was a heated moment in the discussion of who should be named the new Sidney Ward councillor.
Speaking to council during the motion for Dewitt, Councillor Duncan Armstrong said he would be expressing his support for Karen Sharpe to take on the role.
During Armstrong’s comments to council, this exchange occurred between him and Mayor Jim Harrison after Harrison said there was a motion on the table.
“I’m talking.”
“We have a motion on the table.”
“Didn’t you just speak? (motioning to Councillor Stedall) I’m not allowed to speak.”
Armstrong continued on vouching his support for Sharpe stating that sometimes the popular vote isn’t the correct vote and the correct vote isn’t the popular vote.
“Odds on favour are if (Sharpe) had run as a councillor, in all likelihood, she would have been successful and the worst case scenario is that she would have been next in line,” Armstrong said.
“My decision will be to support Karen Sharpe, be it a popular or unpopular decision, it is my position that it is the correct decision.”
Armstrong then said that he didn’t appreciate Mayor Harrison for interrupting his comments.
During the motion to name Karen Sharpe the new councillor, Michael Kotsovos explained his decision to vote yes to both Alan Dewitt and Karen Sharpe.
“I have worked well with both names that have been mentioned – both former Councillor Sharpe and former Councillor DeWitt. Had that motion been put on first, I would have voted yes to support Karen as I did vote for Alan,” Kotosovos explained.
“Doesn’t mean I’m indecisive. It just means that I wanted, as I mentioned before, a unified front showing that the candidate that comes to the table has our support and we’re willing to work with them.”
Councillor Card echoed Kotsovos’ comments calling for council unity.
Karen Sharpe has been appointed by Quinte West City Council to fill the Sidney Ward seat left vacated after the death of Terry Cassidy. (Photo: Karen Sharpe)
Contact is set to be made to Sharpe to inform her of council’s decision.
