Andrew Niven chosen to replace Nick Ruller on council during closed-door discussion

The majority of Niagara-on-the-Lake council has opted to not take the traditional route of filling a vacancy left by the departure of Nick Ruller, who stepped down from his role as councillor last month after accepting the position of fire chief for the City of Brampton. Instead, council has appointed Andrew Niven, who ran for a seat at the table and narrowly missed out in the 2018 election.

Niven is the director of marketing and hospitality at Konzelmann Estate Winery and chair of the NOTL Chamber of Commerce board.

After a discussion in a closed session of a special council meeting held Wednesday, he was chosen to take the seat “pending confirmation of acceptance and  legislated ability, qualifications, and requirements,” said town clerk Grant Bivol. 

The first choice would typically have been Allan Bisback, who was elected to serve on council in 2018 but lost his seat when he placed ninth in the 2022 municipal election.

After Wednesday’s vote, two people approached the front of the council chamber where councillors and staff sit, expressing displeasure with how things unfolded. One unidentified woman said council should be “ashamed," before Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa asked her to leave the council chambers. 

In an interview with The Local on Thursday, Bisback, who missed being re-elected in 2022 by 66 votes, said he isn’t bothered personally that he wasn’t selected, but that he’s “more disappointed around the process.” 

He said there should have been more discussion in open session on “how council was going to look at the different options.” 

Bisback believes a public explanation about why council was choosing Niven would have been helpful for residents.

“If a council chooses to appoint someone, they should provide reasons why they’re appointing that person,” he said. Bisback was a councillor from 2018 to 2022 and was involved in the appointment of Coun. O’Connor following the resignation of Stuart McCormack. 

“I understand the process because I went through it,” said Bisback, claiming that at that time, councillors were given a more detailed explanation of next steps. 

But the decision has been made and he’s moving on with his life. 

“They made their choice based on the options in front of them, and that’s fine,” he said, adding “it is what it is.” 

On Thursday, Wiens said even though council chose not to appoint someone based on the 2022 election results, the proper process was followed. Appointing someone other than the runner-up is still considered a traditional approach, and is part of one of two options, the other being a by-election. 

Does council believe Niven is a better candidate than Bisback? 

Wiens did not say yes or no, but did say “that a decision was made through debate,” and that it was a result of “democracy in action.” 

The Local also asked if council discussed multiple candidates in closed session. 

“I can’t tell you how many people,” he said, adding that he has received emails from critics following Wednesday night’s meeting about the direction that council chose. 

“If the province wanted us to pick the next person, they would have made that the law,” said Wiens. 

In a statement to The Local, Niven said he is “incredibly honoured” to have been appointed to Niagara-on-the-Lake council. 

“This community holds a special place in my heart, and I am eager to serve and contribute to its ongoing success,” adding that he looks forward to working with council and staff on important issues. 

“From preserving our town’s heritage to addressing the needs of our growing community, I am committed to fostering open dialogue and thoughtful decision-making,” he said. 

Niven also told The Local that he did put his name forward expressing interest in filling the spot prior to Wednesday’s meeting. He ran in in 2018 but was not elected, finishing in 11th place and capturing 4.61 percent of the vote. 

In the staff report brought to council on Wednesday, a breakdown of how things have worked in the past was provided. 

The two main options to consider were to appoint a willing person or hold a by-election. 

But there are specific directions that could be taken when appointing someone, and Coun. Gary Burroughs tabled a motion at the meeting to place a candidate who missed the cut in the 2022 election. 

Coun. Sandra O’Connor seconded the motion. 

“I think this is the best way to proceed with this position at this time because there is precedence,” she said, referring to the town historically going this way when there has been a vacancy of an elected seat. 

But that motion by Burroughs was not voted on right away, as council went into closed session following questions from Coun. Erwin Wiens about whether the town has received any interest from people seeking to fill the vacant council seat. 

“I’m not comfortable going straight to a vote,” said Wiens. 

It was advised by Bivol that this would enter into the realm of discussing identifiable individuals, which led to council deferring Burroughs’ motion before going behind closed doors for about 50 minutes. 

When council returned to open session, Burroughs’ motion was defeated when only he and O’Connor voted to support it. 

They were also the only two who voted against appointing an eligible individual “without an application process and without referencing the most recent election results.” 

The next motion was to appoint Niven, which was also supported by everyone but Burroughs and O’Connor. 

Previous councils have filled vacancies by appointment. 

In almost all cases, the candidate with the next highest number of votes was appointed to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. 

In 1985, Wilbert Dick was elected as the town's regional council representative and was later elected by his peers as regional chair. 

Harold Clement was appointed to fill the vacancy of the Regional Council positions. 

“It is interesting to note that, when asked by the Region to appoint a person to replace Mr. Dick as the town’s representative on regional council, the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake council chose to appoint Mr. Clement rather than the person who had placed second in the election for Regional representative,” said the report before council.

Jim Collard, who had placed ninth in the most recent municipal election, was appointed to fill the position left vacant on council when Clement was appointed to Regional Council. 

Two years later, Kevan O’Connor was appointed to fill the position left vacant by the resignation of Alderman Michael Dietsch, who left to take the position of MPP. 

Staff noted that O’Connor had placed 10th in the municipal election held in 1985. 

In 2002, Rob Copeland resigned his seat as alderman and council appointed Tom Braybrook, who had finished ninth overall in the 2000 municipal election. 

In 2008, current lord mayor Gary Zalepa was appointed when a vacancy occurred after the death of Bob Howse. Zalepa finished ninth overall in the 2006 municipal contest. 

In 2010, two candidates ran for regional councillor to represent NOTL, Gary Burroughs and Dave Lepp. 

Burroughs was elected and later placed by fellow regional councillors as regional chair, causing his seat to become vacant. 

Council appointed Lepp, who had placed second in the race for regional council, to fill the vacancy. 

In 2020, O’Connor was appointed when a vacancy occurred on council from the resignation of Stuart McCormack. She finished ninth overall in the 2018 election.