2 central Newfoundland towns to replace mayors elected as MHAs

The mayors of two Newfoundland towns will have to be replaced, after successfully moving on to provincial politics.

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Grand Falls-Windsor Mayor Al Hawkins and Botwood Mayor Jerry Dean were both elected as MHAs Monday, part of the new Liberal government.

Craig Pollett, CEO of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador, says the replacement process creates some work for town clerks and staff, but it shouldn't have too much of an impact on daily operations.

"It really shouldn't interrupt things too much," Pollett told CBC's Central Morning Show on Wednesday. "That's why everybody has a deputy mayor."

Pollett says there are rules for towns that have a separate election for mayor and different rules for a town that doesn't.

In Grand Falls-Windsor, which elects its mayor separately from councillors, there are are a number of different routes the town can take as the next municipal election is more than 12 months away.

Options include having a byelection, letting the deputy mayor take over until the next election, or choosing a replacement from remaining councillors.

"Essentially in this case, it's the same as if any councilor left council," said Pollett, referring to rules for towns that do not have a separate election for mayor. "There are cases where all three of those options have been chosen."

In the meantime, Pollett said people shouldn't be surprised to see municipal politicians moving on to the House of Assembly..

"It happens quite frequently. The kind of person who runs for municipal council quite often is the type of person who wants to make some change in their community," he said.

"They'll do that at the municipal level for a while. Then they get to understand the role of the provincial government and then they want to make a contribution there as well."