​Time to abolish the ward system in Kincardine

Kincardine council made history Monday night (Nov. 9) and is now one step closer to abolishing the ward system in the municipality.

Congratulations to Ward 3 councillor Randy Roppel for bravely stepping up to fill the position of deputy mayor, left vacant after the death of Marie Wilson in October.

Traditionally, the deputy mayor post is held by the person who ran for councillor-at-large in the municipal election and received the most votes. In the 2018 municipal election, that person was Wilson, followed by councillor-at-large candidates Doug Kennedy, Laura Haight and Dave Cuyler.

Following Wilson’s death, the obvious choice for deputy mayor, would be the person who had received the second-highest number of votes – in this case, Kennedy. By a similar fashion, the obvious choice to fill a vacant mayor’s seat would be the deputy mayor.

However, in a bold move, Kincardine council decided that anyone on the current council would be able to fill the position of deputy mayor.

Monday night, in a vote between Roppel and Kennedy, Roppel convinced the majority of council members that he, as a ward councillor, would be able to represent all the people in the municipality, and with his vast municipal experience, he would be the best choice.

This leaves the Ward 3 councillor’s seat vacant which can also, by the decree of council, be filled by any eligible elector, and not just a candidate from Ward 3.

Which means that the wards no longer matter.

It’s apparent that, after more than 20 years of haggling about the need for wards, the obvious conclusion to be drawn is that if the Ward 3 councillor can represent all the people in the municipality, then any council member can represent all the people in the municipality, so the ward system is no longer necessary.

The next step for council is to call for a referendum at the 2022 municipal election and let the voters decide whether to abolish the ward system. That’s the only fair way to determine the fate of this draconian and out-of-date method of governance.

Otherwise, what we saw Monday night was just the well-orchestrated performance by a charlatan.