It is always difficult for a municipal council to replace one of its elected members.

The deal with the voters at election time is pretty clear: it is a four-year term, and I'm trusting you with my vote to govern over that period of time.

But, stuff happens. People get sick. People die. Councillors or mayors decide to run in another election, likely federal, provincial or territorial. Business opportunities arise. Family situations change. The elected member just doesn't like the office because of hard decisions or political sparring. The elected member gets turfed because of some crime or malfeasance. There is a recall by angry voters. A catastrophic accident happens to the person or a family member.

Whatever the situation, it puts the remaining members of that council in a difficult situation. Their choices are dictated by provincial law or council bylaw. Or, by a decision the council makes depending on circumstances.

One decision is to simply leave the seat open. If it is early in a term, that is usually deemed unfair to the ward residents, and unacceptable to the long-term interests of the council's decisions for that term. If it is late in a term, it may be seen as the easiest decision that would not 'waste' public money.

Second, the obvious choice is to have a by-election. Those take time, are expensive to conduct, and cause fomentations in the middle of council's term. But, it gives the public the right to choose their member.

The third option is to appoint someone to fill the unexpired term. That will cause controversy because that would give the newcomer a lift in the next election. The council may instead decide to appoint someone who commits to not run in the next election. Perhaps it is a retired former councillor who returns to fill that remaining term. Whatever, the process will involve interviewing candidates, it will take council time, it will cause public outcries, and the council will inevitably be criticized for whatever decision it makes. It will save public money.

There is no simple, clean path to replace a vacant council seat. That one person could change key votes on big issues. Some sitting council members could see the vacancy as a chance to get a new member who will vote with them, which could sway a big, close vote.

Councils are put in an extremely awkward position when faced with replacing a vacancy. What they choose to do is meaningful to their community.