Remarks on a Vacancy

Update: Summer 2025

After I had given this delegation and left the meeting, the council decided how to fill the vacancy. They’ve chosen a middle ground that, in my view, achieves much of what I recommended. The details can be found here.

Inclusion. The process allows for the consideration of more possibilities than just those that were on the ballot in 2022. Life circumstances change, and individual priorities change. 

Critical Reflection. Regional Council will actively consider applicants, including a statement of their interest and qualifications. This is a substantial improvement over a process that considers only their presence on the ballot 3+ years ago.

Transparency. The process will unfold with public attention. The names of eligible applicants will be publicised, letting the public know much about the field of possibilities. The process has already been covered in local media

While this process doesn’t achieve everything I recommended, as there doesn’t seem to be a mechanism for the public to be part of the consideration, it does present a fair way to fill the vacancy. It has found a middle ground, with reasonable cost, while achieving what I’ve described above.

As I was telling the story of this delegation to a friend she asked, "Why not just ask Kitchener City Council to recommend an appointment?" And... yeah! I love the idea, and wish I'd thought of it myself.

A Bylaw Would Help! It should be standard practice at the beginning of each council term to pass a bylaw that makes clear (and public) how a vacancy is to be filled. It could be part of the election conversation as well.

End of update… I've provided a link that cues to the part of the meeting where I spoke. enjoy reading & watching my delegation from late June. It’s the text I had in front of me, and I think I kept close to it.

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YouTube Link

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Good evening Chair Redman, Regional Councillors, staff, and neighbours from across the Region of Waterloo.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you this evening. My name is Simon Guthrie. I live and work in the region, and I’ve spoken before to Kitchener City Council and the Waterloo Region District School Board about the same issue we’re facing tonight: how we fill vacancies in our democratic institutions in a way that reflects our values.

Let me start by recognising that you are under time pressure due to provincial legislation. It’s never easy to lose a colleague, especially someone as committed as Councillor Kari Williams. And with summer here and regular meetings more limited, I understand the urgency of choosing a path forward. But speed must not come at the cost of democratic integrity.

Council has three basic options: appoint someone directly, hold a byelection, or try something new. Each comes with trade-offs.

An appointment might be expedient and cost-effective, but it comes at a democratic cost. It is fundamentally undemocratic for a legislature to select one of its own, particularly when most of its members wouldn’t be eligible to vote in the very community that is now left without representation. And that’s not just theoretical. The majority of this Council doesn’t live in Kitchener, yet would be tasked with choosing someone to speak on Kitchener’s behalf. That should give all of us pause.

Even the most well-intentioned appointment can give the appearance of cronyism or insider politics. It risks eroding public trust. And if Council considers appointing a previous runner-up, we open the door, however unintentionally, to a deeply concerning precedent: that a campaign of harassment or pressure against an elected official could force a resignation and install a more “palatable” replacement. That may sound far-fetched, but it’s a concern I raised when speaking to the school board, where trustee harassment has become far too common. I’m confident that you each know this far better than I do.

A byelection would solve many of these legitimacy issues. But it’s also expensive and time-consuming. And as we know from experience, voter turnout in municipal byelections can be low. That leaves us with elected officials who may have received support from fewer voters than a community association president. It’s democratic in form, but not always in function. That said, byelections do happen. Just last week, the City of Ottawa held one to fill a council vacancy in Osgoode Ward. Turnout was 24%, and notably, the runner-up from 2022 (who ran again) was not elected. When given a choice, voters did not simply opt for the next name on the list.

So let me offer you a third way, one that balances democratic legitimacy with financial responsibility and public trust.

Convene a Citizens’ Assembly, also called a Reference Panel. This is a body of randomly-selected voters that reflects the demographics of Kitchener (age, gender, neighbourhood, background). They would meet, with the support of professional facilitators and background materials, to deliberate on the questions: How should this vacancy be filled? Who is the most suitable person to fill it?

Council would commit at the outset to accept the guidance of the panel. This ensures the final decision rests with residents, not insiders.

This isn’t just theory. It’s already been done here in Ontario, across Canada, and around the world. MASS LBP, a Toronto-based organization, has guided more than 30 panels for governments across Canada. Their work is profiled in Dave Meslin’s book Teardown: Rebuilding Democracy from the Ground Up. I highly recommend the book to anyone thinking about how to make democracy more participatory and inclusive.

And yes, there is a cost. But it’s modest, especially when weighed against the legitimacy it buys. The typical cost of a Reference Panel, depending on scope and schedule, is tens of thousands of dollars. That includes mailing invitations to households, recruiting a representative panel, compensating participants for their time, and professional facilitation. That cost pales in comparison to the six-figure price tag of a byelection, which can easily exceed $1,000,000.

I’m not trying to say this is easy or expedient. It takes a bit of courage to try something new. But the mechanics are all in place. We don’t have to reinvent this wheel. I can share with staff both MASS LBP’s Civic Lottery Guide and their Reference Panel Procurement Guide, which spell out the entire process. The path is clear if you choose to take it.

You have the chance to do something more transparent than an appointment, more engaging than a byelection, and more innovative than either: to empower residents not just to be heard, but to lead.

In closing, thank you again for your time and attention. You carry a heavy responsibility not just to represent your constituents, but to model the kind of democracy we all want to live in. A vacancy doesn’t have to be a disruption. It can be an invitation: to do politics differently, and to bring new voices to the table.

I’d be happy to answer any questions as I’m able, and I hope you’ll seriously consider this opportunity to lead with integrity and imagination.

Thank you.