Council declares Jacobs' seat vacant

LEAMINGTON — Councillor John Jacobs passed away suddenly on November 9 and last week, Leamington Council voted to declare his council seat vacant.

Three options were available to council to fill the vacant seat.

Option One involved appointing a member of the public. Option Two was to hold a by-election, and the third option was to offer the seat to the person who garnered the next highest amount of votes in the last municipal election.

JOHN JACOBS

Council voted unanimously to appoint the person with the next highest amount of votes.

That candidate was Trevor Jones, who was unsuccessful in his bid for council in 2018. Jones had 2582 votes, while Heather Latam was next with 2555 votes.

Administration will contact Trevor Jones and if he still qualifies and is willing to take the seat, he will be sworn in at a later date.

If not, the matter will come back to council.