Controversy befell the ordinarily staid proceedings of the swearing in of City of Powell River Council members and Powell River Regional District board directors when a vote for regional district chair was disputed.
At the Tuesday, December 2, council and regional district meetings, held at Powell River Recreation Complex, after the vote for the regional district’s chair position, Colin Palmer was announced as having been re-elected. It appears the outcome was not as some directors had expected. It came to light that one ballot was illegible to the vote counters and was not counted. Legal opinion suggested the vote be retaken, which it was on Friday, December 5, and Patrick Brabazon was named chair for the coming year.
As for the inaugural meeting itself, the city councillors and regional district representatives-elect were piped into the Arbutus Room by Dexter Hobson. The assembly sang O’ Canada accompanied on piano by Taiga Ball, received a blessing from Dr. Elsie Paul, Tla’amin (Sliammon) Nation elder, and a prayer from Reverend Cameron Reid.
Her Worship Janice Robertson, Justice of the Peace, swore in Mayor Dave Formosa and newly elected councillors Maggie Hathaway, Jim Palm, Russell Brewer, Rob Southcott, CaroleAnn Leishman and Karen Skadsheim.
In his inaugural address, Formosa acknowledged the outgoing councillors Debbie Dee, Myrna Leishman and Chris McNaughton, for their hard work, dedication and help in shaping Powell River’s future for years to come. “Working with them has been a highlight of my career and an absolute joy,” he said. “This is not always an easy job. You worked diligently and tirelessly with your whole community in mind.”
Formosa urged the new council members to hang on because the city is in for an exciting four years ahead. “The previous council got many jobs done and there are many jobs still to be completed,” he said. “There are issues and projects that you may want to bring up. I truly look forward to working with each and every one of you.”
Formosa said in the coming term, there will be relationship building, creating the connection that previous city councils have been so fortunate to enjoy during the six years he’s had the pleasure of serving this “great community and city.”
He said he knows all members of this new council will be striving for honesty, integrity and will work hard.
Formosa said in closing, he wanted to remind everyone that the new council members will always strive to treat one another with respect, remembering they are there to serve and to direct staff in the best interests of the whole community.
“We are not here to do the day-to-day work,” he said. “We are here to set policy and direction.”
Following the city’s inaugural meeting, Powell River Regional District held its inaugural meeting. The following elected rural directors were sworn into office: Patrick Brabazon, Electoral Area A; Stan Gisborne, Electoral Area B; Colin Palmer, Electoral Area C; Sandy McCormick, Electoral Area D; and Merrick Anderson, Electoral Area E. The two new city-appointed directors, Brewer and CaroleAnn, were also sworn in, along with the regional district’s alternate directors for areas B, C and D.
A swearing-in ceremony for one new and four returning Powell River Board of Education trustees took place at 5 pm the same day at the school board office.
Jay Yule, School District 47 superintendent of schools, welcomed guests, staff and elected officials.
“We’d like to see this many people at our regular board meetings,” Yule told the gathering. He explained the formal part of the evening would be short and followed by socializing.
Robertson conducted the official ceremony. Individually, Ashley Hull, Mary James, Aaron Reid, Jeanette Scott and Doug Skinner agreed to adhere to the requirements of public office.
Retiring trustee Steve Formosa was recognized for his contributions over the past three years. He and Hull, newcomer to the board, cut a congratulatory cake that included their names.
Second election overturns regional district’s chair position
Unclear ballot results in revisiting vote for board leadership
Illegible handwriting on a secret ballot for the Powell River Regional District chair’s position resulted in votes being recast three days later, with a different result.
As a consequence, Colin Palmer, Electoral Area C director and past chair, who was re-elected to the chair at the regional district’s inaugural meeting, Tuesday, December 2, was defeated. Patrick Brabazon, Electoral Area A director, will serve as the regional district’s chair for the coming year. The second election was held during a special meeting on Friday, December 5.
According to Al Radke, the regional district’s chief administrative officer, at the inaugural meeting, the interpretation of one particular ballot for chair came into question. He said that legal opinion suggested it would be unreasonable to expect staff to re-examine the ballot and come to a conclusive decision.
“Their opinion was that the ballot was sufficiently unclear and that one cannot conclude, with any degree of certainty, the intent of the ballot,” Radke said. “The advice from our lawyer was that the most prudent and fairest solution was to re-conduct the vote.”
At the December 5 special meeting, Brenda Paquin, the regional district’s manager of administrative services, opened the meeting and called for nominations. Palmer was nominated by Merrick Anderson, Electoral Area E director from Lasqueti Island, and Brabazon was nominated by Sandy McCormick, Electoral Area D director from Texada Island and the board’s only new rural director.
When asked if the nominees had any commentary, Brabazon deferred to Palmer to make the first statement.
Palmer said he would like to continue in his role as chair. He said it’s a role that’s misunderstood. “I was horrified just recently when somebody said I was the boss of the regional board,” Palmer said. “I’ve never regarded the chair’s position as being the boss. To me, it’s a position where you are elected by the board and you help the board to work together, to collaborate, to make things happen.
“I’ve always recognized that each director comes from a separate area, with separate constituents and separate tax issues, and somehow it all has to be brought together. If that doesn’t happen the board doesn’t function.”
When board members have come to him in past, Palmer said he’s tried to lead people into positions where they can get things done.
He said he has always stated, when members of the public have addressed him as the board chair with issues, it wasn’t his position to tell them what the answer was and what they could do.
“It was usually a method of talking to them and encouraging them to bring the issue to the regional board because decisions are not mine alone to make.
“That’s always been my philosophy,” he said.
Brabazon said he had previously written speaking notes to give during an anticipated nomination address on Tuesday night, and he didn’t get to use them at the inaugural meeting because nobody spoke, so he edited them and wanted to present his thoughts to the board prior to the election for chair.
Brabazon said the regional board has new directors and is a vibrant board with new ideas.
“Moving forward we can be proud of being proactive and responsible,” he said. “I favour an open and transparent government. Working with directors I’d like to reduce the number of closed-door meetings. The Community Charter has a rich menu of must and may. I want to draw a line between them and cross that line only in exceptional circumstances.”
Brabazon said he is well aware that if he was elected chair, he would serve at the pleasure of the board.
“I can make no promises and deliver no votes,” he said. “The board is the collective voice of the regional district and I would anticipate that directors would speak and vote with their principals and integrity intact.”
After Brabazon’s speech, Paquin handed out ballots, directing those voting to indicate their choice of chair, listing both the first and last name. She also requested that those casting ballots print legibly so there’s no chance of the people counting the ballots to be unable to identify the choices.
When directors had written their choices on the ballots, the ballots were collected and taken out of the boardroom to be counted. Less than three minutes later, Paquin announced that Brabazon had been elected to the position of chair of the regional board.
The board then carried a motion to destroy the ballots.
Brabazon assumed the chair’s seat at the head of the boardroom tables and presided over reviewing the rotating appointments for vice-chair and the appointment of signing officers for the regional district before adjourning the special meeting.
Unlike mayors, who are elected to a four-year term of office, regional district chairs are elected to one-year terms during the first regional board meeting held after December 1.
