Vaughan considers options for replacing former deputy mayor Di Biase

Veteran councillor Michael Di Biase stepped down after Vaughan's Integrity Commissioner Suzanne Craig found he sexually harassed a city employee.

Yorkregion.com
May 29, 2017
By Adam Martin-Robbins

Vaughan council will grapple with how to fill the deputy mayor’s chair at its June 5 meeting, after veteran councillor Michael Di Biase’s sudden resignation in the wake of an ethics investigation that found he sexually-harassed a city employee.

The city clerk is slated to present a report to councillors outlining costs and other factors - such as the potential timing of a byelection and staff resources - for them to consider in deciding whether to fill Di Biase’s local and regional councillor seat by appointment or through a byelection.

Following the June 5 meeting, at which Di Biase’s regional seat will officially be declared vacant, council has 60-days (until Aug. 4) to appoint his replacement or pass a bylaw to hold a byelection, so voters can decide who gets to fill the seat for the remainder of this term, which ends in late 2018.

If council opts to hold a byelection, it must first set a nomination deadline for some time between 30 and 60 days after passing a bylaw to hold a vote. Election day would take place 45 days after the nomination deadline.

That means a byelection would likely occur in late September or early October.

If council opts to appoint someone to fill the position, they must do so by Aug. 4.

And council has a couple of options when it comes to appointments. They can allow eligible residents to apply for the job and then choose the candidate they feel is best or they can appoint a sitting local councillor.

If they take the latter approach, the local councillor’s seat would need to be filled either by appointment or through a byelection.

That would be a cheaper option than holding a byelection for a regional seat as that is a city-wide election versus a local ward election.

Di Biase, who served on council for nearly 30 years including a stint as mayor from 2002 to 2006, announced he was stepping down May 18 after the release of a damning report by Integrity Commissioner Suzanne Craig.