On by-elections

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no NO!

It is NOT a St. John's city by-law which demands by-election to fill a vacant Mayor's chair. It is the City of St. John's Act itself:

15.1 Where a vacancy occurs in the office of the mayor more than 12 months before the expiration of the term of office of the council, a by-election shall be held to fill that position but if a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor fewer than 12 months before the expiration of the term of office of the council, the deputy mayor shall assume the office of mayor for the remaining term of office of the mayor and has the powers and shall exercise the duties of the mayor.

As an act of a legislature — remember what a "legislature" is? — it is the House of Assembly alone, not St. John's City Council, which can change this provision, even if, under Premier Don't-Waste-My-Time, City Council meets more often.

What's particularly interesting about the Mayor by-election provision in s. 15.1, though, is that it was enacted in 2001. (2001 cM-20.2 s103.)

That is, under the Premiership of one much-maligned Roger Grimes, a humble teacher, not a Great Lawyer.

Yet the teacher's government could foresee a circumstance in which it would be better to just wait out the general election, rather than force a late-term by-election.

The teacher could.

But, even with ample precedent for dealing with such a possibility from across Canada, from the City of St. John's Act, and from the Municipal Elections Act, the Great Lawyer could not.