Low voter turnout worth the price tag: LaSalle Mayor

LaSalle saw a low voter turnout, with only 12.5 per cent voicing their opinions, but the mayor says that was expected.

LaSalle’s mayor says voter turnout in the town’s recent byelection was low but expected.

“Unfortunately, the Canada Post strike did hurt a little bit. The timing wasn’t great, but it could have been worse,” said Crystal Meloche.

“Thankfully, our voter cards hadn’t been mailed out yet, so they weren’t stuck in limbo somewhere.”

The seat was vacated after Coun. Sue Desjarlais passed away in April.

In May, staff presented council with the option to appoint or to call a byelection.

Several versions of appointment were considered, voted on and rejected ending in a stalemate.

In the end, council decided to send voters back to the polls in a 4-2 vote.

“I think democracy is very important and I think residents should have a say who sits there. I mean, those seven seats are very important,” detailed Meloche.

“I don’t really believe council should decide who sits there.”

The decision came of the cost of around $100,000.

Meloche said no cuts were made as the byelection was funded through a reserve set aside for elections.

“We just really felt strongly about the fact that the residents should have their say and they should be choosing who sits in those seven seats,” she told CTV News Windsor.

In total, 3,402 Lasalle residents voted in the by-election.

Unofficial results show Mike Seguin won with 1,197 votes.

“I want to thank the candidates. I mean, there were seven strong candidates running in this byelection,” she said.

“They each had different ideas and different visions for the town, but they were out there knocking on doors and willing to listen to residents.”