A candidate who lost to Phil Squire in 2018 and could be tipped to temporarily replace the departed Ward 6 councillor says any appointed fill-in councillors — himself included — should be barred from running in the 2022 municipal election.

"To me, anyone who takes on these positions mid-term through an appointment should not be running to take that position again," said Mike Bloxam.

As the London candidate who finished second to Squire in Ward 6 the last time Londoners voted in a municipal election, Bloxam appears to have the inside track on filling in for Squire, who unexpectedly stepped down last week to take a provincial appointment.

Bloxam says a few councillors have reached out to him about it after a city council committee moved to appoint another 2018 runner-up — John Fyfe Millar — to fill the vacancy created in Ward 13 when Arielle Kayabaga was elected as a Liberal MP in the London West riding.

"It blew up with phone calls and messages," said Bloxam. "Certainly not what anyone was expecting, a second ward seat to open up when they were discussing how to fill the first one. It was quite the dramatic timing."

The committee recommendation to appoint Millar in Ward 13 will be discussed at the Oct. 26 council meeting. The process for Ward 6 isn't that far along yet. Council has to officially declare the Ward seat vacant — which will likely happen at the Oct. 26 meeting — and choose how they will appoint a fill-in councillor in Squire's spot.

Under provincial rules, council can either appoint someone to fill a vacancy or hold a byelection. London city staff are recommending against byelections, mainly because the new councillors wouldn't take their seat until February, only eight months before the full election. There also appears to be little appetite among council members to go the byelection route.

And even though an appointment may put Bloxam in the seat until October, it's not the process he'd prefer. The heritage advocate says he'd rather see a byelection or at least an open appointment process in which names are put forward and council votes on them.

And while he's willing to serve in the ward for a year following an appointment if that's what council decides, Bloxam said anyone who steps in to fill a seat should agree not to run in the full election. The argument against allowing fill-in councillors to run next year goes like this: Appointed interim councillors benefit from an incumbent advantage, a leg up that they didn't get by way of a mandate from electors.

Coun. Maureen Cassidy and Coun. Jesse Helmer have said they're in favour of barring fill-in councillors from running in their seats but staff has said that since there's no rule to enforce it, they'd essentially have to rely on the honour system.

Others on council, including Holder, have argued that interim councillors who decide to run in October will be held accountable for their comments and voting record during the time they've served.

And while Bloxam says he won't run again, Millar isn't making the same pledge.

When asked if he would run again in Ward 13 during an interview on CBC's London Morning, he was non-committal.

For now, Bloxam said he'll wait and see what council decides. If byelections don't happen, he'd like to see the appointments opened up to anyone interested, followed by a council vote. He also likes the idea of picking a former council member to serve out the term so long as they don't seek the seat in October.

"Just appointing someone because they came in second place last time, I don't think that's the best way to choose someone," he said.