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8- The Oakville Beaver, Friday September 7, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Board votes for democratic decision By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF As long-time Oakville Catholic school board trustee Alice Anne LeMay steps into the chair's shoes, Burlington residents of Wards 1 and 2 need to prepare themselves for a November byelection. This was the decision handed down by the Halton Catholic District School Board during a Tuesday meeting in which members deliberated on what to do about the gap that now exists in their ranks. With the Aug. 28 resignation of SUPER SATURDAY! 7 PM SESSION ONE LINE GAMES SEPT 8 TWO LINE GAMES $ 300 $ All In Your 7 Page Book Saturday September, 15 Check out: www.meadowvalebingo.com or call the Hotline: 905 3 2000 FREE DRAW Jackpots $ BACK TO S HOOL SPECI L! for 10 Great Prizes Including: · Laptop computer, portable DVD player, MP3 Players and Digital Cameras. 600A C Friday September 7th 10pm session & th 7pm session 821-7883 for further details 2295 Battleford Road, Mississauga Meadowvale Sponsors Assoc. Lic. #36-004 & M507567 board chair and Burlington trustee, Al Bailey, whose sudden departure was caused by a desire to spend more time with his loved ones, the board called upon Burlington's City Clerk Kim Phillips to help weigh the options. "You have two choices tonight," she said. "One is to decide that you as a board would like to pursue an appointment process to fill the vacancy that you find on your board. The other is to decide whether or not to hold a byelection to fill that spot." The factors involved in choosing which option to go with were many, for while a byelection was seen as the most democratic way to put someone in place to represent Burlington Wards 1 and 2, it was also the most time consuming and expensive with the price of actually holding the election expected to cost the board as much as $35,000. Whether or not enough people are even willing to participate in an election was also discussed. "If we're setting up a polling station for just a Catholic school trustee I'm going to guess that the voter turnout is going to be a lot less. That would be my assumption based on the fact that when you elect whole town council you only get 30 per cent voter turnout," "I just would not feel comfortable with all the possible labels that could be put on the board for having appointed someone's buddy or colleague or whatever." Bob Van de Vrande, Burlington trustee said Oakville trustee Pauline Houlahan. Another argument made by Houlahan against holding an election was that the electorate had entrusted the trustees to solve problems like this by electing the existing trustees. "We are elected by our constituents and even though they didn't elect us to choose someone else to sit with us, are we not representing their interests by going through with an appointment process?" she said. In the end it was decided that only the people of Burlington in Wards 1 and 2 had the right to select a trustee to represent them, and trustees voted unanimously to hold a byelection. The date for that byelection was then set for Monday, Nov. 26, which would give the board time to raise awareness of the by-election and allow for candidates to come forward. For Burlington trustee Bob Van de Vrande, a byelection was the only way to go to fill the board vacancy. "I would feel much more comfortable having a person democratically elected, even with the low voter turnout," he said. "I just would not feel comfortable with all the possible labels that could be put on the board for having appointed someone's buddy or colleague or whatever. That's the rationale for me." The Halton Catholic District School Board will accept nominations until Oct. 12. Filling a board member vacancy was not the only fallout from Bailey's resignation, as trustees also moved to fill the void created by his absence. Tuesday night also saw the unanimous election of Burlington trustee Joanne Matters, who ran unopposed, to the role of vice chair of the board. Matters and LeMay, a longtime Oakville trustee who assumed the role of chair when Bailey resigned, will serve as vice chair and chair until Dec. 4, when board elections for the positions are held. Matters was one of a group of five trustees who only four months ago called for the resignations of LeMay and Bailey on the grounds that they did not hold the board's confidence. The Regional Municipality of Halton www.halton.ca iRecycle because our school is committed to making a difference. Students do all the Blue Box recycling in the school. We make announcements asking students to empty their pop cans and water bottles before putting them in the Blue Box. ­Abbey Park High School Environmental Council Would you like to know more about recycling? Halton Region offers recycling and waste diversion education programs to elementary and secondary schools and early year programs. Teachers can contact Halton Region to arrange for a workshop, or visit www.halton.ca/waste for more information 1151 Bronte Road, Oakville, Ontario L6M 3L1 Tel: 905-825-6000 · Toll Free: 1-866-4HALTON · TTY: 905-827-9833 · www.halton.ca 090707