Public will have say in how to fill former York region trustee Nancy Elgie’s vacant seat

Trustees with the York Region District School Board preferred a hybrid option of community consultation with Georgina residents to decide if they prefer an appointment to fill the vacancy versus a costly byelection.

Thestar.com
March 7, 2017
By Noor Javed

Trustees with the York Region District School Board have opted to give the residents of Georgina a chance to decide how they want to fill a seat left vacant by the resignation of Nancy Elgie.

The trustees debated the matter at a board meeting Tuesday night in Aurora, with some saying “democracy is expensive” while others said the “board has spent too much money already.” The candidate will fill the Georgina seat that had been held by Elgie since 2000.

“Let me be blunt,” said Markham Trustee Susan Geller. “We as a board have spent enough money . . . on travel and legal fees to get a great candidate for the one-year period.”

Many of the trustees preferred a hybrid option of community consultation with Georgina residents to decide if they prefer an appointment to fill the vacancy versus a costly byelection.

“If we have a roomful of people demanding a byelection, then we will know what residents of Georgina want,” said new chair Loralea Carruthers.

Elgie resigned on Feb. 17 following months of controversy over using the word n----- to refer to a black parent after a public meeting in November. In a speech posted on YouTube, the 82-year-old Elgie said she “made a terrible mistake” and was “truly sorry for the pain my words have caused.” She blamed a head injury for causing her to confuse her words.

A staff report on the vacancy offers both an appointment and a byelection as viable options. Under appointment, trustees had the option of : appointing the first runner-up from the 2014 municipal election, engaging the services of an external consultant, and developing and facilitating a process internally.

At the meeting, Carruthers brought forth a motion that will include the board to create an ad hoc committee to get feedback from the community. The goal would be to get feedback by the end of March, and decide how to proceed.

The cost associated of an appointment can range up to $60,000 (if an external consultant is hired). Advertising costs could range from $4,000 to $10,000. The vacancy should be filled by May 19, 2019.

The report also suggested a byelection, to be run by the Town of Georgina, at a cost of almost $300,000.

Trustees also expressed concern at the restrictive cost of campaigning for the average citizen. Trustee Corrie McBain said costs can often range in the several thousand dollars.

In 2014, the voter turnout in Georgina was around 39 per cent. Elgie won 52 per cent of the vote with 5,600 votes, while the runner-up, Cynthia Cordova, got nearly 4,500 votes.

But no matter how the new trustee is chosen, their tenure would be short-lived. The next municipal and school board election is the fall of 2018.

Cordova, who was in attendance at the meeting, said the trustees’ decision was “a good compromise.” She said she will run for the seat either way.

Since 1991, there have been five times when the board filled a vacancy, after trustees passed away, or trustees were elected to another public office. Most of those were filled through the appointment process.

Investigators appointed by the province are a month away from issuing their report on ongoing problems within the board. The board has been accused of ignoring incidents of racism and Islamophobia, as well as questions about trustee spending and conduct and an ongoing culture of fear.

Last month, investigators told community members they were overwhelmed by the number of people asking to meet. To streamline the process, they asked people to submit their concerns over email, but warned that the emails could be retrieved through access to information requests.

The report is to be completed by April 7.