With only two councillors voting against the decision, Andrew Niven has been appointed to Niagara-on-the-Lake council, filling the vacancy left by former councillor Nick Ruller.
In a written statement, Niven, best known as chair of NOTL’s Chamber of Commerce, said he is “incredibly honoured” to have been appointed to council.
“From preserving our town’s heritage to addressing the needs of our growing community, I am committed to fostering open dialogue and thoughtful decision-making,” Niven said.
In previous years, vacancies on NOTL’s council were filled by the first runner-up from the last municipal election, with notable examples including Coun. Sandra O’Connor in 2020 and Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa in 2008.
For those with criticism for how the replacement was chosen, council adopting this procedure set a precedent, which they believed should be followed, for how to handle filling vacated council seats.
However, those who were in favour of selecting Niven say how the town made these decisions in the past isn’t based on a single hard-and-fast rule, as there is more than one legal option for how to fill a vacancy, and that council was within its rights to go in another direction.
O’Connor and Coun. Gary Burroughs disagreed with the selection of Niven during council’s closed-session meeting on Oct. 16, stating a preference for 2022 election runner-up Allan Bisback.
“I don’t think your paper is big enough to handle all of the reasons why I think we made the wrong decision,” Burroughs told The Lake Report.
He refused to comment further.
“I seconded the motion from Gary Burroughs to go with Allan Bisback because of the precedent that has been set by council in the past,” O’Connor told The Lake Report.
NOTL has a standard for selecting the ninth runner-up from elections when there is a council vacancy, after doing so for so many years, O’Connor said.
Her entrance into council in 2020 was a result of her appointment after former councillor Stuart McCormack stepped down, as was Zalepa’s position on council in 2008, she said.
As Coun. Erwin Wiens told The Lake Report, however, appointing Niven was fair and democratic, as outlined in the Municipal Act and the town’s procedural bylaws.
“The only two options are to hold a byelection or to appoint somebody — that’s what the legislation says.”
A byelection is the most “purely democratic” option, but council avoided it because it would be costly and time-consuming, Wiens said.
“What we did was completely democratic. It followed the system.”
Just because a certain procedure was followed in the past, does not mean it has to be done again, Wiens said.
Zalepa’s comments were similar, stating there is no precedent law in municipal law.
“Just like any decision, I consider what I think is the best for the community and then I make a decision.”
Deciding during a closed session was the proper way to do it, he said.
“Any time you are in a public meeting and you’re going to begin to identify individuals and have conversations pertinent to individuals, that qualifies for what is called a closed-session meeting.”
When it came to the selection of Niven specifically, O’Connor did not have much to say.
“I have no comment on him as an individual, I just have a comment on the precedence,” she said.
O’Connor acknowledged council had options to choose from and what council decided to do was within its rights.
She was unable to comment on why council decided to go with someone other than Bisback, due to the confidentiality of the details discussed in the meeting’s closed session, O’Connor said.
Given Niven’s great contribution to NOTL before his appointment, Zalepa said, he is glad to see Niven joining council.
“I’m pleased for someone who is involved and has taken an interest from before being a council member — and somebody who has put their name on the ballot as well — I’m pretty pleased that it’s the outcome,” Zalepa said.
Bisback, who placed ninth in the 2022 municipal election, was disappointed with the outcome of the meeting, he said.
“I’m not upset over the fact that council chose a different option, they have the right to,” he said. “I’m more concerned over the fact that there was no open discussion.”
For Bisback, the process behind selecting the council member was not clear.
“Was it based on merit? Was it based on experience? I don’t know what it was based on, so that leaves a lot of concern,” he said.
Niven is a good citizen whom Bisback knows very well, he said. He had nothing negative to say about council’s choice to appoint him.
