Here’s when the next mayor will be chosen in Mississauga
Published January 31, 2024 at 1:30 pm
If all goes according to plan, Mississauga will have its next mayor in place on the night of June 10.
City council gave the go-ahead earlier today to a plan that outlines next steps in the process to replace former mayor Bonnie Crombie, who left Canada’s seventh-largest city on Jan. 12 to take the reins of the Ontario Liberal Party.
A report brought to council on Wednesday morning by city clerk Diana Rusnov lays out rules under Ontario’s Municipal Elections Act governing the upcoming mayoral byelection and identifies June 10 as voting day.
However, that date and other items in the report still must be officially approved at a special council meeting on March 6, when a bylaw stating that a mayoral byelection be held is expected to be passed.
Guided by the MEA, Mississauga’s city clerk determines the timeline for the mayoral byelection.
Five days after Crombie left office, city council officially declared the mayor’s seat vacant on Jan. 17.
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Once the bylaw requiring a byelection is passed on March 6, nominations for the position of mayor will be held from that date until April 26, according to Rusnov’s report.
The mayoral byelection campaign would then follow until election night on the second Monday in June.
The clerk is also recommending that advance poll days be held at city hall on May 24-25 and at locations throughout the city on June 1-2.
The report also calls for $3.5 million to be made available via the city’s Election Reserve in order to stage the byelection.
Four councillors have expressed interest in being city’s next mayor
Four members of Mississauga city council have already expressed interest in or declared they’ll be running to succeed Crombie.
Stephen Dasko (Ward 1), Alvin Tedjo (Ward 2), Carolyn Parrish (Ward 5) and Dipika Damerla (Ward 7) have all thrown their hats into the ring.
Speaking in early December just after winning the Liberal leadership, Crombie said she expects the race to succeed her to be “an open field.”
She added she doesn’t plan on endorsing any one candidate.
A poll conducted Jan. 10-11 identified who Mississauga residents would like to see move into the mayor’s office.
In the meantime, an acting mayor rotation holds the mayor’s seat until the byelection fills the vacancy in June. No councillor running for mayor can hold the position of acting mayor.
Ward 4’s John Kovac concludes his run as acting mayor today, with Joe Horneck (Ward 6) taking the reins for February and March.
Ward 8’s Matt Mahoney, unless he decides in the interim to run for mayor, will serve as acting mayor for April and May.
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