Clyde headed for byelection

Diana Vosseler resigns from village council

Village of Clyde Coun. Diana Vosseler has resigned her seat at the council table, prompting a probable summer byelection.

Vosseler first announced her resignation in a letter to village interim CAO Annette Schwab on June 1. In that letter, she explained why she was stepping down.

“Please be advised that I will be resigning as Village of Clyde councillor as of today as I will be moving to Westlock,” the letter reads.

The Westlock News has repeatedly attempted to contact Vosseler for comment, but she has not returned calls.

Vosseler’s resignation from council was considered automatic once she moved out of the village, according to Alberta Municipal Affairs spokesperson Wendy McGrath.

Although McGrath could not speak to the specifics of the circumstances surrounding Vosseler, she said the Municipal Government Act is straightforward when it comes to an elected representative moving out of the municipality he or she represents.

“If a councillor has moved out of the municipality to which they’ve been elected, they no longer meet the qualifications of a candidate,” she said, adding at that point the councillor should resign as per Sec. 175 of the MGA.

With Vosseler’s resignation, Clyde council has only four members, necessitating a byelection to fill that vacancy.

At the moment, Schwab said all the details of the byelection have yet to be sorted out, only that one is required.

“The MGA stipulates we have to have a byelection because the next (general) election is not scheduled for another year,” she said.

The prospective date for the byelection is Aug. 30, which represents the maximum 90 days allowed to pass between the seat being vacated and when an election must take place according to the MGA, Schwab said.

However, that date can be bumped up.

“Unless a council sets an earlier date, the election date for a byelection is 90 days after the vacancy occurs,” she said.

Over the coming days, village administration will outline the rules and the timeline surrounding the byelection, including nomination deadlines, advanced poll dates and the byelection date itself, Schwab said.