Byelection to be held in Sturgeon County after councillor-elect submits resignation

The county council is expected to set a date for the byelection on Thursday. (Melinda Nagy/Shutterstock - image credit)
The county council is expected to set a date for the byelection on Thursday. (Melinda Nagy/Shutterstock - image credit)

A byelection will be held in Sturgeon County after a councillor-elect submitted his resignation the day before he was to be sworn in.

Ron Shaw won Division 6 of the county with 305 votes against opponent Jason Berry's 241. He was due to be sworn in along with the mayor and rest of council on Tuesday.

But a release on the county's website said he submitted a letter of resignation Monday.

The six-sentence letter is addressed to the county's chief administrative officer. Shaw cites personal reasons for the decision, adding that the "timing was just not right."

Shaw was chairman of the Heartland Residents Task Force and has more than 30 years teaching experience in Gibbons, Alta., according to his campaign website.

Sturgeon County council has set a special meeting for Thursday morning to determine the date of the byelection.

The byelection will mirror the recent municipal one, director of corporate services Jesse Sopko said Tuesday. Nominations will open to Division 6 residents once a date has been set with the nomination period ending four weeks before election day.

In the meantime, residents and businesses in Division 6 in Sturgeon County can turn to Deputy Mayor Neal Comeau or Councillor Dan Derouin for council matters.