Come By Chance town council to be reactivated following semi-successful nomination day

Come By Chance's town council will be reactivated following a nomination day that saw five residents including one woman who was dismissed last year for an alleged violation of residency requirementsstep forward as candidates, though two vacancies remain.

The town of just over 200 residents on Placentia Bay, on Newfoundland's southeast coast, has not had any elected leadership for nearly four months after the seven-member town council disintegrated amid controversy and dismissals following last September's general election.

A government-appointed administrator has been overseeing the affairs of the town since mid-March, and that will continue until the new council is sworn in, likely next week.

The five nominees who stepped forward Tuesday are Dave Boutcher, Carol Molloy, Mary Hodder, Nadine Baker and Trevor Hodder.

"I just want this community to hopefully get back to where it doesn't have to be in the public eye anymore because it's running properly and smoothly," said Trevor Hodder, a newcomer to municipal politics.

"It's been a great down. A great town to grow up in. It's a fortunate town. We have resources that other small towns don't. And we should be back to where we were in years past," he added.

Since the five town councillors will be acclaimed, an election scheduled for June 28will not be necessary, though another call for nominations must be held within three months to fill the two remaining vacancies.

Molloy, meanwhile, is one of five town councillors whoseseat was vacated in recent months. In her case, she was removedlast fall because she did not meet residency requirements, town manager ColinHolloway told CBC News in February.

Under the Municipal Elections Act, a town councillor whose seat is vacated is prohibited from seeking re-election for a period of two years, but that doesn't apply in Molloy's situation, according tothe Department of Municipal and Provincial Affairs.

"Vacation of a seat as a result of a councillor not meeting the residency requirement does not carry a two-year ban on running in an election, unlike the vacation of a seat due to conflict of interest," a department official wrote in a statement to CBC News.

Compliance with residency requirements of nominees isdetermined by the returning officer, said the statement.

"Itis the department's understanding that Ms. Molloy now meets the residency requirements set out in the legislation."

Molloyhas appealed her dismissal to Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court. Shedeclined an interview request Wednesday and hasn't publicly said whether she plans to pursue that appeal. In a message on the town's Facebook page this week, she wrote that she's"looking forward to working with you all for the best interests of our town and fellow residents."

Come By Chance is located in a heavily industrialized area of the province, and grants in lieu of taxes swell the town's treasuryto more than $1.2 million annually, making it one of the most prosperous small towns in the province.

But thenormally quiet community has been making headlines for different reasons in recent months, highlighted by an implosion on council in February when four members then mayor Keith Best, his son Matt Best, deputy mayor Ralph Sladeand Lew Baker were dismissed after an investigation determined they violated conflict of interest rules.

All four former councillorshired a lawyer and launched an appeal oftheir dismissals, and lobbied unsuccessfully for a waiver of the two-year prohibition rule in order to take part in this week's nomination.

Kim Downey resigned in December after taking up residence in another community, while the last member of council, Kathy Paul, quit amid an uproar on Feb. 15 after delivering the report that recommended the seats of her four fellow councillors be vacated.

"It's sad to see different parts of the town going at each other," said Hodder, who said he stepped forward in hopes of "getting some semblance of normalcy back to the town."

After they are sworn in, the five town councillors will decide among themselves who will serve as mayor.

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