Wawa has a new mayor - and is now looking for a new councillor.
Following the resignation of Mayor Ron Rody - who stepped down at the end of November - Wawa Municipal Council decided last night not to call a by-election, but rather to appoint a current councillor to the role - Pat Tait was nominated by Councillor Mitch Hatfield, seconded by Councillor Cathy Cannon, with no other nominations before the appointment was confirmed by a vote.
Tait - a former AOD welder who'd also worked at Weyerhaeuser, Wesdome, and Rentech - has been on Council since April 2018, but acknowledged the shoes he's stepping into.
Council also discussed how to select their deputy mayor, deciding upon the recommended rotation: Councillor Bill Chiasson will serve in the role now until March 15th; then Councillor Hatfield until June 15th; then Councillor Cannon until September 15th; and their-yet-to-be-appointed colleague will serve in the role the remainder of their term, which ends next November.
Clerk Cathy Cyr told Council there are two options for filling that vacant seat: calling a byelection, which she recommended against as it's less than a year from the next municipal election; or appointing someone, which could be done based on the next runner-up in the 2018 election, by picking a member of the public, or by putting out a call for expressions of interest, which is what Cyr recommended along with a prepared application form - Council agreed, with plans to open that call today, accepting applications until January 13th.
Similar to the process followed in 2018 - which led to Tait's appointment - Council would then interview the candidates in a January 25th meeting, and pick the appointee in a vote by Council during that meeting - Cannon noted some misgivings about the way the 2018 meeting was held, but was assured this time it would be entirely open, outside of candidates being sequestered when another is answering Council's questions.