Norfolk County council will not be entering into a “Lame Duck” state.
Yesterday, we announced that Ryan Taylor has bowed out of the election – asking voters not to elect him due to personal circumstances though his name will remain on the ballot.
County Clerk Teresa Olsen told us, via email, that the Municipal Elections Act regulates that a candidate cannot withdraw after 2:00 p.m. on Nomination Day and their name will remain on the ballot until the election.
Technically, because of this, Taylor remains as a qualified elected official at this time and as a candidate until October 24th.
A lame duck council is when there is not enough members around the table running for re-election, meaning they can no longer meet to vote on decisions until a new council is elected.
In Norfolk, that is 7 elected officials seeking 7 different seats (current seat or a different seat), which is what we had prior to Taylor’s announcement.
With Taylor backing out, people wondered if a Lame Duck council would be triggered as then only 6 people would be seeking re-election.
Olson told us that because Taylor is still on the ballot and, in theory, could be elected despite his request for people not to vote for him, then we are not in a Lame Duck situation.
If Taylor is not elected and we do not have 7 returning members on October 24th, then it would enter a Lame Duck situation until the new council sits for the first time.
