Penticton holding special council meeting to kick off by-election process

Special council meeting

Photo: Castanet

A special meeting of Penticton city council will be held tonight, Thursday Jan. 16, to take the next steps towards a spring by-election.

The city is down one elected councillor following Amelia Boultbee winning the local MLA seat in the fall.

Tonight, council will be asked to approve Angie Collison, city corporate officer, as chief election officer, with Paula McKinnon and Hayley Anderson as deputies, and set the date for an election on April 5, 2025.

Candidate nominations packages will be available either on the City of Penticton website or for pick up at City Hall beginning Jan. 17. Information in the nomination documents from the candidates will be publicly available online until 30 days after the election.

The by-election budget is estimated at $85,000. It will be funded through general surplus.

The special council meeting will be livestreamed for anyone interested online here.

Meanwhile, council is also short a second councillor, as Coun. James Miller is on mandatory paid leave while he faces historical sexual assault charges. Miller has indicated he will not resign despite being unable to carry out any council duties while his court case is underway.

Miller has been suspended since August 2024.

All other sitting councils have publicly affirmed their intentions to carry out the remainder of their two-year term.