Kingsville exploring options on Mayor’s seat

After last week’s surprise announcement that Mayor Nelson Santos was stepping down from the chair to pursue a job opportunity in Adjala-Tosorontio Township, Kingsville Council now must weigh several options to fill the seat.

Santos’ resignation will officially be filed on July 17, according to an information report released by the municipality on Monday.

The Municipal Act would then require council to declare the office vacant at its next council meeting. The next meeting scheduled after July 17 is on August 8 (unless they call a special meeting).

One option is to leave the seat vacant until the new term begins in the fall with a newly elected mayor. In the meantime, the Deputy Mayor would chair all meetings.

They can also choose to fill the vacancy. According to the report, if the vacancy occurs after March 31 of an election year, the seat must be filled by appointment only.

Kingsville’s Council Vacancy Policy will provide a second option, which is filling the seat with the Deputy Mayor or another interested member of council for the remainder of the term.

Interested members would be required to fill out an application and submit it to the Town Clerk.

If that option is chosen, this action will create another vacancy on council, which again can be left vacant or filled with the person who got the next highest amount of votes in the last election, or by a call for nominees, which is the least likely and least-preferred option by local administration.