“We’re ready.”
Hamilton City Clerk Matthew Trennum says he is ready to run a by-election to fill the Ward 8 council vacancy arising from John-Paul Danko’s election to the federal parliament.
The City is awaiting Danko to file a letter of resignation, the publishing of election results in the Canada Gazette, or Danko being sworn into Parliament.
Once this happens, Trennum says he “will bring a bylaw forward to declare the seat vacant at the very next [Council ratification] meeting.”
At the following meeting, we will bring a report forward that will give them their options and should there be a by-election, information on how that would go forward.”
The next scheduled Council ratification is on Wednesday, May 7, with the next meeting scheduled for May 28 and then on June 18.
Ten members of Council have stated they will call for a by-election, with four leaning towards a by-election, and one undecided.
Learning about municipal by-election timelines here.
Council to Consider Online Voting
Hamilton may experiment with online voting for this by-election.
The recent Ward 4 school board trustee by-election used online voting as an option. A total of 473 ballots were cast, 260 were cast in-person, and 213 were cast online.
Clerk Trennum is supportive of online voting as an option. He recently partnered with Nicole Goodman, Associate Professor of Political Science at Brock University, on e-voting research. E-voting vendor Neuvote was part of the research partnership. The firm is registered to lobby the City of Hamilton.
Thorold, where Trennum was Clerk before being hired in Hamilton, used e-voting during the 2022 election. In a recent 4-4 vote, Thorold decided to continue having online voting as an option.
“I’m not going to recommend anything,” Trennum said Wednesday. “I’m going to give Council their options and they can choose.”
City Prepared, Will Avoid Problems Vancouver Experienced
“We’re ready,” Trennum said in response to questions regarding preparations and whether the City can avoid problems that occurred during voting in Vancouver’s recent by-election.
Vancouverites waited in line for hours on April 5 to vote; record turnout was a significant reason.
“We’ll be able to meet any timeline that they provide us.”
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Published: May 1, 2025
Last updated: May 1, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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