Mayor and Council met for the first time since Guy Boutilier resigned. One of the first items on the agenda was setting a date to replaced the former Ward 1 representative. Voters in the ward will head to the polls March 30, 2015 to decide who should fill the vacant seat.
Mayor Melissa Blake says her and the former councillor used to have a strained relationship, and things were just starting to turn around.
“The past few months with Councillor Boutilier have been very positive for me and for him. I was caught unaware because we had actually been making some progress,” she says.
Boutilier handed in his resignation letter Jan. 24. Attorney Paul Beke of Burnet, Duckworth & Palmer says it was a condition of an out of court settlement between Boutilier and his client. In an affidavit filed on Nov. 7, 2014 Robert Vargo argued Boutilier should be disqualified from office. He claimed Boutilier didn’t live in Ward 1 for six consecutive months before the 2013 nominations for the municipal election.
Blake would not comment on the court challenge. In an email to mayor and council on Saturday, Boutilier said he was leaving to pursue full time work.
Nomination Day is March 2. The RMWB is setting a schedule for candidate information sessions and advanced voting.
