Wollaston Township council has unanimously supported the hiring of an Election Consultant ahead of the 2022 municipal election.
Reeve Barb Shaw says they are looking to bring in Nancy Wright-Laking for the position. Wright-Laking was unable to speak to the MyBancroftNow.com newsroom due to the on-going contract negotiation with the municipality.
Wright-Laking is the President of the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers.
“Someone who would be an impartial, experienced individual who would work on behalf of the municipality to ensure everything with the municipal election for the next cycle is done appropriately,” Shaw says when asked to describe what is needed for the position.
Shaw says decisions have to be made about how balloting is done for the upcoming election. “None of that has been determined, in fact, none of that has been discussed,” she says. “Those are the issues we have to grapple with after what happened with the last election cycle.” Shaw adds that hiring Wright-Laking is an “important step” in rebuilding trust within the community and to rebuild the understanding that the democratic process works. “Elections need to be managed responsibly,” she says.
As for the investigation into wrongdoing during the 2018 municipal election, Shaw says new information has been found. While the OPP concluded their investigation in January 2020 finding “no criminal wrongdoing” Shaw says council will look to get this new information to the police. “Council will be going through the process of deciding what to do with that information,” she says. Shaw says she’s unable to give more information on the new information when asked.
