Election call in Kingston

BY NANCY KELLY

Kings County Register

The village of Kingston will hold an election to fill two recently vacated seats on its commission.

Dale Clarke’s Nov. 1 resignation came on the heels of David Lowe’s early departure from the commission the month previous.

Village chairman Tom Beardsley indicated details of an election call will be made public at the Nov. 12 regular meeting of the village commission. Based on recent discussions with staff and other commissioners, he anticipates the two vacant positions will be reduced terms, running until the village’s annual meeting in May 2010. Seats on the commission are generally held for three-year terms. Lowe’s position was due to wrap up next spring, but Clarke’s term expired in May 2011.

While the Municipal Government Act permits the village to function with as few as three elected members, Beardsley said it is unrealistic to expect himself and fellow commissioners Martha Armstrong and Lorne Reid to do the work that has traditionally been distributed between five commissioners. “If it were for a month or two, it might be a different story, but we need to be able to function effectively until the end of our fiscal year,” Beardsley said, adding an increased workload for the remaining commissioners over a six-month period would not work.

He hopes reducing the length of the two terms will translate into “some fresh interest” from the public and some new faces on the commission. “I am really encouraging young people to get involved. We need to bring people on board who can lead the village towards the future.”