Council voted unanimously in favour of a motion to appoint Rob Foote as the newest member of city council and Councillor Rob Warburton as debuty mayor.
Rob Foote was the closest runner-up in the Fall 2022 municipal elections, coming in ninth place.
Yesterday at the governance committee, councillors decided that bringing in a new councillor to fill the seat was the most “democratic” option.
Councillor Garett Cochrane expressed a belief that appointing Foote was the only option for council.
“If we appointed anybody else outside of that realm, it would put this council into disrepute and question the very legitimacy of our formation,” said Councillor Cochrane.
Foote is currently the manager of inventory and supply chain quality at GNWT’s Health and Social Services Authority.
Since former-councillor Mayor Hendriksen was appointed mayor following former Mayor Rebecca Alty’s resignation (Alty was elected as N.W.T. MP on April 28), city council was left to consider how to handle the vacant councillor seat.
Council had the option to leave the seat vacant until the next municipal election in the Fall of 2026, hold a byelection or appoint a new councillor.
Yesterday at the governance committee, councillors decided that bringing in a new councillor to fill the seat was the most “democratic” option.
Councillor Garett Cochrane pointed out that this would also allow for an uneven balance of councillors, which would prevent tied votes on any matters put before the council.
Councillors also pointed out that filling the seat would allow the possibility of new perspectives and insights that would otherwise be absent.
Mayor Hendriksen affirmed that a new councillor would be welcome into the leadership circle and would still have the opportunity to receive due training and orientation as a new city councillor.
Councillors expressed concerns about the byelection option as it would take up to four months and would come with a price tag of up to $150,000.
The motion to appoint Rob Foote as city councillor is scheduled for the next council meeting on May 26.
A motion to appoint Councillor Rob Warburton as deputy mayor is also scheduled for May 26.
