by Kyra Hoggan on Monday Jan 18 2021
With the resignation of Castlegar Mayor Bruno Tassone, the city is undertaking the challenging task of a by-election during a pandemic.
Luckily, according to city communications manager Bree Seabrook, there have been enough elections since the appearance of Covid-19 to provide staff with direction on how to approach the issue in a safe and direct manner.
“There are lots of examples we can learn from, and assess best practices for moving forward,” Seabrook said.
Residents may be expecting council to appoint a chief elections officer at their regular council meeting this evening (Jan. 18), but Seabrook said this is also a complicated concern.
by Florio Vassilakakis on Monday Jan 11 2021
Ed. Note: the following is a statement Castlegar Councillor Florio Vassilakakis posted on his Facebook page, re=published with his permission: I have taken a few days to think about the surprising events that have transpired during the last week in Castlegar. Mayor Tassone appears to have been under extraordinary personal duress, and that is regrettable. We are all struggling under the pressures of this pandemic and the impact on our families and businesses. We all have had to make decisions about how we conduct ourselves, and as civic leaders we do bear additional responsibilities. I’m sorry the mayor doesn’t feel well enough to fulfill his duties, but some of the reasoning casts aspersions I’m not comfortable with.