Byelection, appointment are options for filling Rob Ford's city council seat

In the wake of Rob Ford's death, city councillors will have to soon address the question ofwhat to do with his vacant council seat.

• ANALYSISRobFord: A mess of contradictions whose fans were quick to forgive
• Rob Ford was an unusual adversary, John Tory says
• Rob Ford: 10 unforgettable moments

Ford, who served as councillor for Ward 2, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer.

According to provincial law, councillors must declare Ford's seat vacant at either of their next two council meetings, which are scheduled for March 30 and 31, and May 3 and 4. They will then have 60 days to decide whether to appoint someone to the seat, or call a byelection.

If council decides to fill the vacancy by appointment, it has to establish its own rules to carry that out since there are no procedures laid out in either the City of Toronto Act (COTA) or the Municipal Elections Act (MEA), according to Jackie DeSouza, director of strategic communications for the City of Toronto.

To fill vacant seats in Wards 5 and 20 in 2014, council opted to:

• Place advertisements in local newspapers inviting interested candidates to apply.
• Holdinformation sessions for applicants.
• Requirethat applicants complete consent and declaration of qualification forms, and offer proof of identification.
• Giveapplicants the opportunity to address council for five minutes.
• Alloweach councillor to ask applicants onequestion.
• Vote to determine the winning applicant.

If council opts for a byelection, the city clerk is required to set a nomination day within 60 days after the bylaw calling the byelection is passed, according to the MEA. Nominations begins right when the bylaw is passed, and voting day must be 45 days after nomination day.

"The clerk is required to conduct a byelection 'as far as possible in the same way as regular elections,'" the MEA states.

The estimated cost of holding a byelection is between $150,000 and $200,000, depending on the size of the ward, DeSouza said in an email to CBC News.

"Factors would include such variables as number of electors, voting locations, households, candidates, anticipated turnout, translation requirements, etcetera," DeSouza said.

The candidate appointed or elected to fill the vacancy will hold office for the remainder of the term that the original office-holder would have fulfilled. Council's current term ends on November 30, 2018.