Waterloo Regional Council prepares to fill vacant Kitchener seat

CTV’s Ashley Bacon breaks down the next steps to fill the vacant seat of a Region of Waterloo councillor who died in April.

The City of Kitchener will soon have a new representative at Waterloo Regional Council following the death of Councillor Kari Williams.

At the end of April, Regional Chair Karen Redman confirmed Williams’ passing after a battle with cancer.

During a council meeting on June 25, council decided to fill the now vacant Kitchener seat through an appointment process, instead of calling for a byelection.

“I wish that we had an election, because the way it is, two of the four regional councillors representing the citizens of the City of Kitchener have been appointed rather than elected,” retired University of Waterloo political science professor Peter Woolstencroft told CTV News. “I think that’s a sad state of affairs.”

Earlier this year, council appointed a replacement for former Councillor Robert Deutschmann after he stepped down to run in the provincial election. Matt Rodrigues took over the position. He had narrowly missed out on a seat during the 2022 municipal election, earning 9.7 per cent of the vote. In comparison, Colleen James secured 13.49 per cent of the vote, Michael Harris had 11.61 per cent of the vote, Kari Williams claimed 10.68 per cent of the vote and Robert Deutschmann pulled in 10.08 per cent of the vote to earn their seats at regional council.

“Here’s the problem: all the councillors who are elected have democratic legitimacy because they have been elected through the electoral process,” Woolstencroft said. “The people who are appointed are in a different standing. The only people who elect them are the council members.”

In a statement, Redman said the decision to move forward with an appointment process is in the interest of the public.

“The process we chose to fill the vacant seat is democratic, inclusive, and affordable for residents,” she said. “I think the level of interest in the position speaks to the importance of work the Region of Waterloo is engaging in, whether it’s delivering on rapid transit, building critical housing-enabling infrastructure, or investing in housing and health supports, the new Regional Councillor will be key to delivering on the vision for this growing community. This role comes with both unique challenges and opportunities and I look forward to working with the successful candidate.”

What happens next?

The deadline to submit an application to fill the vacant position passed on Aug. 1. A final list of nominations will be made public tomorrow, but the names of 44 people in the running for the position have already been posted online.

During a special council meeting on Aug. 14, all applicants will be given 5 minutes to speak to council and explain why they believe they should be the next councillor. Once everyone has had their say, councillors will officially choose the replacement and pass a bylaw to make their selection official.

The next day, the successful candidate will take the oath of office and start receiving training in municipal governance protocols.

That person will attend their first official meeting as councillor on Aug. 27.

Municipal elections are held every four years, meaning, barring a byelection to fill another vacancy, Waterloo Region residents won’t get a chance to cast a ballot for regional councillors until Oct. 2026.