Regional council to mull over options to fill Deutschmann’s vacant seat

Could the City of Kitchener be headed to a byelection?

It’s one of the options being considered to replace former Regional Councillor for Kitchener, Rob Deutschmann who resigned to run as a Liberal in the provincial election.

Deutschmann’s seat was declared vacant on Jan. 29, which set in motion a timeline requiring council to declare a byelection within 60 days. That would be March 30, 2025.

Council actually has four options with a byelection being the most costly and time consuming.

A staff report, looking at the potential options estimates a byelection would cost in the neighbourhood of $800,000. Council would have to pass a bylaw calling for a byelection. That would open 30 days of nominations followed by a by-election no more than 45 days after nominations close.

Based on the timeframe, that would mean the byelection would be held sometime in June.

The other three options are much less costly and would see a new councillor in place within weeks, not months.

Council could appoint the runner-up to Deutschmann from the 2022 municipal election. That would be Matt Rodrigues. In that same report, staff said they reached out to Rodrigues and he has said he is eligible and willing to do it.

The regional clerk would have to confirm Rodrigues’ eligibility and prepare a bylaw for his appointment. Council could approve that bylaw on March 19 with Rodrigues in place by the April Standing Committee meeting.

This would be the fastest option and come with no costs beyond staff time.

The next option would be for council to issue a call for applicants. Council would make the call public and allow individuals to submit an application. Council would have to convene a special meeting to allow applicants to present their case to councillors, who would then choose the candidate.

Staff estimate this option would cost around $5,000.

A third option would be a direct appointment. That would allow councillors to nominate their preferred candidate.

This provides councillor to nominate someone who meets certain criteria. Like, for example, being committed to not running in 2026, someone who adds to the diversity of council or someone who could get up to speed quickly.

This process could have the new councillor in place by April 8.

Regional Council meets March 4.