Matt Rodrigues officially appointed to regional council
Posted Mar 13, 2025 05:17:18 AM.
Last Updated Mar 13, 2025 10:18:44 AM.
Waterloo Regional Council confirmed the appointment of a new councillor at a special meeting on Thursday.
Matt Rodrigues, who finished 400 votes behind former Kitchener councillor Rob Deutschmann in the 2022 election, will fill the vacant seat on regional council.
The seat was vacated by Deutschmann, who resigned back in January after announcing his intention to run as a Liberal for Cambridge in last month’s provincial election.
His resignation left council with several options to replace him, which would take place after the election.
One of the options on the table was a by-election. However, it was determined that would mean the seat wouldn’t be filled until sometime in June and would come with an $800,000 price tag.
Council said the reasoning was partially based on the speed at which the seat could be filled given economic threats from south of the border and the need for the region to come up with protections for local businesses and manufacturers. The cost was another factor.
Rodrigues’ first day on regional council will be March 21.
