Schedule "A"

 

 

Appointment of a Current Ward Councillor to Assume the Office of REGIONAL Councillor

 

1.      At the Council appointment meeting: the Mayor will advise that Council has declared a Regional Councillor seat vacant in accordance with the Municipal Act, 2001 and resolved to fill the Regional Councillor vacancy by appointment of a Ward Councillor.  He will then provide a general overview of how the appointment process will be conducted.

 

2.      Only Town of Markham Ward Councillors elected to the 2006 – 2010 term will be considered eligible for appointment.

 

3.      The Mayor will request that any Ward Councillor interested in being considered for the appointment to the Regional Councillor seat to indicate their interest by raising his or her hand.

 

4.      The Mayor will read aloud the names of the Ward Councillors who have indicated their interest and will request a mover and seconder to adopt the “slate of nominees”.

 

5.      Ward Councillors do not need to be present to be nominated but shall present an original, signed letter consenting to their nomination to the Clerk prior to the meeting.  If this has been not provided to the Clerk, the Ward Councillor will not be permitted to stand for appointment.  Ward Councillors absent from the meeting (but duly nominated) will not be permitted to provide written submissions to the meeting, appoint a representative to speak on their behalf, withdraw their nomination or participate remotely by any means.

 

6.      Nominees will be offered a maximum of five (5) minutes each (with no extension) to speak prior to the first round of voting.  The order of speakers will be drawn by the Clerk (i.e., the first name pulled will be the first nominee to speak).

 

7.      If there is a contest (i.e. there is more than one nominee), rounds of voting will be conducted as follows:

 

a.       The Clerk will read out the names of all the individuals nominated (alphabetically by surname).  These names constitute the official “slate of nominees” to be voted on.  The Clerk will instruct Council to indicate their choice of nominee on a card provided by the Clerk in each round of voting.  Each Councillor is entitled to vote for one (1) nominee in each round of voting.  Once a card has been displayed, no changes shall be permitted.

 

b.      The Clerk will ask Members of Council to vote by displaying their choice of nominee to the Clerk at the same time (i.e. by holding up the card with the name of their nominee of preference that is clearly visible to the Clerk).

 

c.       If at the end of any round of voting, a nominee receives the votes of more than one-half of the Members of Council present, the Clerk will declare the nominee to be elected and a resolution or by-law will be prepared and submitted to Council for enactment.  In other words, if there are 12 Members of Council present, a successful nominee must receive a minimum of 7 votes to be appointed.

 

d.      Where a round of voting does not result in a nominee receiving more than one-half of the votes of the Members of Council present, the nominee with the fewest number of votes will be excluded from the next round of voting and the vote will be taken again by the Clerk and again as required until a nominee has received more than one-half of the votes of the Members of Council present.

 

For example, in a contest with 4 nominees and 12 Members of Council             Present, a nominee will need a minimum of 7 votes to be appointed:

 

Nominee A – 5 votes

Nominee B – 3 votes

Nominee C – 3 votes

Nominee D – 1 vote

 

In the above scenario, as no majority vote was achieved, Nominee D is eliminated from further voting, and another round of voting will occur.

 

e.       Where there is not a majority, but a tie exists between two or more nominees for the fewest number of votes received, the Clerk will draw all but one nominee’s name from the container to continue in the subsequent round of voting.  In other words, the nominee not pulled by the Clerk is eliminated from the contest.

 

f.        In any round of voting, one (1) vote shall be considered the lowest number of possible votes.  Where nominees receive zero (0) votes, they will be automatically excluded from the contest.

 

g.       The Clerk will record the votes and announce how each Member of Council has voted and the results at the end of each round of voting.

 

h.       The Clerk will ask if any candidate present in person wishes to withdraw their name from the contest after each round of voting.

 

i.         Where the votes cast are equal for all the nominees:

 

                                                               i.      If there are three or more nominees remaining, the Clerk will draw all but one nominee’s name from the container to continue in the subsequent round of voting.  In other words, the nominee not pulled by the Clerk is eliminated from the contest.

 

                                                             ii.      If only two nominees remain, the Clerk will break the tie by pulling the name of the successful nominee to be declared elected by the Clerk.  In other words, the name remaining in the container is eliminated from the contest.

 

                                                            iii.      Each of the pieces of paper used by the Clerk to draw the names in (i) and (ii) will be created by the Clerk and will be equal in size and type and will contain the name of one nominee only.

 

                                                           iv.      Only the Clerk or the Clerk’s designates may handle the pieces of paper or container referenced in this section.

 

8.      If there is no contest (i.e. there is only one nominee),:

 

a.       The Clerk will declare that there is no contest.  As a result, the Clerk will declare the sole nominee elected and a resolution or by-law will be prepared and submitted to Council for enactment.