Regional council set to appoint Matt Rodrigues to vacant seat

After two-and-a-half years, he’ll finally get his shot on regional council.

Council are set to appoint Matt Rodrigues to Rob Deutschmann’s now-vacant seat around the horseshoe.

Deutschmann’s seat was declared vacant on Jan. 29 so that he could pursue other political endeavors. He ran for the MPP seat in Cambridge in the recent provincial election, eventually losing out to PC MPP Brian Riddell.

A staff report looking at the potential options for replacing Deutschmann estimated a byelection would’ve cost approximately $800,000.

Rodrigues finished about 400 votes behind Deutschmann for the last Kitchener seat on regional council in the 2022 election.

“We’re more than halfway through the term, I don’t see the necessity of a costly byelection when we know that the candidate that we’re considering appointing had that kind of support,” said Councillor Jim Erb at the meeting on Tuesday morning.

When he ran for council in 2022, Rodrigues’ campaign focused on principles of connectivity, forward thinking and caring.

“None of these seats have seatbelts in them, but you’re joining regional council at a very crucial, interesting time in the history of the region,” said Chair Karen Redman. “We look forward to having you around the horseshoe with all of us.”

Council will need to pass a bylaw at a council meeting on March 13 to make the appointment official.