Richard Armitage resigned his Shawville council seat in a special meeting on Tuesday morning (Sept. 8) in order to run for the upcoming byelection for mayor.
His is now the third seat on Shawville council that will need to be filled, as two of his colleagues resigned from their posts over the past few months.
This shakeup on council was initiated in July when Shawville mayor Bill McCleary resigned less than a year into his second term, citing difficulties with the new council.
“It just seems that my vision and council’s vision aren’t the same. I’m finding that simple things take too long,” he told THE EQUITY at the time, declining to go into specifics. “I’m losing sleep over it, I wake up at night and my brain doesn’t stop turning. I thought it would improve but it didn’t, so I think this is the best for me and I’ll let council move forward.”
“I’m sorry for doing this. I’m sorry for putting the expense out there and the bother, but my health is more important than money,” he added.
Armitage, who had been serving as acting-mayor in McCleary’s absence, named councillor Lisa Tayor as pro-mayor until the byelection. She will now be representing the municipality at the MRC.
Armitage said that council was advised that in order to have the council and mayoral byelections at the same time, any councillors wishing to run for mayor would have to resign by Sept. 8.
“We’ll fill the three seats at the same time,” he said.
Armitage said that he would save any further statements for the campaign trail.
Councillor Katie Sharpe resigned a week prior to Armitage on Sept. 2, stating that she was seeking new job opportunities.
“I am looking to pursue other different career opportunities that can help me continue to give back to the community,” she said.
Sharpe told THE EQUITY that the Sept. 8 resignation deadline had factored into the timing of her resignation as well, however she said that she wouldn’t be seeking the mayor’s seat.
The notice of election for the three vacant seats was published by the municipality on Sept. 9, with election day scheduled for Sunday Oct. 25 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Advance voting will take place on Sunday Oct. 18 from noon to 8 p.m.
Nomination papers must be filed with the municipality between Sept. 11 and Sept. 25 at 4:30 p.m. The papers must be filed with the designated assistant, who will be present during this period from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. On deadline day, the town hall will be open continuously from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
McCleary ran for the mayor’s seat in 2021 against former councillor Patti Moffat and won with 401 votes (54.48 per cent). In 2025 he ran against sole challenger Linda Davis, winning 428 votes (65.95 per cent).
