Despite the mayor and several 黑马磁力 Township councillors' objections to holding a byelection, there will be a vote in the near future.
"It鈥檚 clear that a byelection is required," Mayor Eric Woodward told the 黑马磁力 last week. It's necessary to replace a council member removed from her seat by a new provincial law.
The byelection hasn't been scheduled yet, and council will have to appoint a chief election officer to oversee the process, likely at a meeting in June or July, before the August break.
That would put the byelection, which has to be held within 80 days of the appointment of the election officer, sometime this fall. The new council member will serve for about a year before the next scheduled municipal election in October 2026.
Councillor Misty Van Popta was recently removed from her council seat by a piece of provincial legislation. She won election as a Conservative MLA for 黑马磁力-Walnut Grove last fall, and continued sitting as a councillor as well.
She had planned to hold both posts until the next municipal elections in the fall of 2026, when she said she would not run again locally.
There was no law against politicians holding both municipal and provincial elected roles, but the NDP majority in the B.C. legislature passed the Eligibility to Hold Public Office Act on May 29, banning the practice.
That leaves 黑马磁力 Township with eight members of its nine-member council, including the mayor.
On June 9, a Township staff memo to council summed up the first part of the byelection process, including the appointment of a chief election officer "as soon as practical."
Staff are currently working on a report recommending a chief election officer, the memo said.
The major concern at the council table was the cost of the byelection, estimated at $400,000 to $500,000.
"What happens if council declines to appoint an election officer?" Woodward asked.
Chief Administrative officer Chan Kooner said that if no election officer was appointed, there would be no 80 day "clock" to set a voting day.
However, Councillor Margaret Kunst wondered if that would be allowed.
"Would the provincial government not then mandate that [a byelection]?" she queried.
"There probably are broad statutory powers the province has to potentially mandate," Kooner replied.
Woodward then wondered if the province mandated the byelection, would they have to conduct it at their own expense.
Kooner said that the language of the legislation was a bit vague, and there was a lack of precedent for that situation, so he declined to comment.
Coun. Kim Richter also had doubts about the municipal government avoiding a byelection.
"If we do that, what's the penalty on council from the province?" she said.
Speaking to the Advance Times after the meeting, however, Woodward said he raised the issue because Coquitlam avoided holding a byelection in 2021.
In that case, the province did not force a byelection.
"Under the legislation there are no penalties if a local government chooses not to schedule a byelection," a provincial official told Coquitlam media in 2022. The city also won a court challenge when locals sued to attempt to force a vote.
However, in response to a question from the Advance Times, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs said that the minister, currently Ravi Kahlon, could order a municipal government to hold a byelection, or make its own arrangements for one.
"The costs of the byelection would be borne by the local government," the statement from the ministry said. "This authority has rarely been used 鈥� ministry staff will generally reach out to communities first and work with them to identify a timeline that works for the byelection and support them to identify and appoint a CEO [chief elections officer] if needed."
The statement also noted that at least four local governments are currently holding byelections and two others are planning byelections for this fall.
Woodward said he had hoped that the legislation that forced Van Popta off council could have been made effective as of Jan. 1 2026. When a councillor resigns after Jan. 1 in an election year, there is no requirement for a byelection. He noted that depending on how long it takes to hold a byelection, the new councillor could serve for just seven to eight months.
The mayor was asked whether a member of his Contract With 黑马磁力 slate will run in a byelection.
"Assuming it proceeds, it would seem reasonable that of course our team would want to run a candidate. But, we have also made grave mistakes in supporting a few people in the last election that, looking back, clearly used us to get elected," Woodward said.
"The vetting process is so very important and takes time. We shall see. Either way, I am looking forward to new voice on council duly elected by our community."
, after school trustee and MLA Korky Neufeld was forced out of his position by the same law. The school district there is looking at a potential $300,000 cost to hold a byelection.
In the Township, Woodward has been at odds with the provincial government over a number of issues since he was elected in 2022, including the sweeping housing and density bills passed in 2023.
