***UPDATE*** The results of the October 22nd Wollaston Township municipal election have now been made official.
The results of the Wollaston Township municipal election will be made official later today. At the council meeting this (Tuesday) morning acting clerk Verna Brundage said she has received advice from Carol Church at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and she has been told she only has to be comfortable that the voter procedure was done properly.
In her 8-and-a-half-minute report to council, Brundage said she had interviewed municipal staff who had been present at the ballot count the night of the election. She was satisfied that the count had gone as “it should have” the night of the election.
However, she received information over the weekend about unethical practices that had taken place by candidates over the campaign period. She did not specify what that unethical act was.
Brundage says she wanted to wait until Monday in order to consult with Dylinna Brock the township Environmental and Safety Services Manager.
Brundage then went on to say that Church, from Municipal Affairs, called her later yesterday and advised her that all she had to do was sign off that the voter procedure had been done properly. Brundage said that Church told her, “Unethical practices by candidates was not my business.”
Brundage went on to say that “I am a taxpayer in this Township and unethical practices by candidates whether they are the current people or not, are my business, but it doesn’t stop me from signing off. So, I will sign off today.”
She continued, “I am not sure what I will do about the information I have received. I would really like those people who have done anything unethical to actually correct whatever it is so that, it doesn’t have to become public, it doesn’t have to be anything, but that they will be able to make the proper moves so that we can help to heal the community.”
Brundage says she has heard people say there isn’t anything wrong in the community, but she has heard far more say there is something “terribly wrong”. She said she hoped that “the people who care about this community can go forward, join hands and are not going to let these people who seem to spend their time hurting this community. We can gather together, hold our hands or whatever we need to do
too to stop this.”
Brundage ended by saying she is not going to do anything to jeopardize the township by doing anything illegal and she doesn’t want to spend money “but if I need to I will ask the township lawyer what can be
done about it.”
She suggested anyone with any further questions ask the candidates themselves if they have done anything unethical.