Hamilton council will decide in June how to fill John-Paul Danko's Ward 8 seat

With former Hamilton councillor John-Paul Danko now a sitting member of parliament, Ward 8 residents currently don't have a representative at council.

Danko won the Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas seat for the Liberal Party in the federal election a month ago. His council seat was declared vacant after council accepted the vacancy notice at Wednesday's meeting. 

"There's challenges right now because people aren't feeling represented," said Mayor Andrea Horwath at the council meeting. 

She advised anyone who needs help from the Ward 8 office to get in touch with her office instead. 

"We will work collaboratively with those who don't have a councillor right now," Horwath said. 

She also thanked Danko for his time as councillor and said she'll continue working with him as MP as he has a "deep knowledge of our city." 

Danko was first elected councillor in 2018. Before that he was a civil engineer and small business owner. 

Next steps to fill council seat

At the June 11 general issues committee meeting, councillors will consider whether to call a byelection or appoint a new councillor, city clerk Matthew Trennum told council. 

If council decides to hold a byelection, they'll need to pass a bylaw and the election would have to take place within 105 days, according to the Municipal Act.

If the bylaw is passed in June, election day would need to be around November. 

An appointment would mean council chooses a new councillor within 60 days of declaring the vacancy, the act says. 

A new councillor was selected for Ward 5 back in November, 2021, after former councillor Chad Collins became MP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek earlier that fall. At the time, 21 hopefuls gave five-minute presentations before council selected Russ Powers to hold the position until the 2022 election. 

The next general municipal election is slated for October 2026.