Standard councillor steps down, byelection to be held in new year

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Carol Allard has officially submitted resignation from his position from Village of Standard council and has stepped down from his seat. 

Allard has been sitting on council for the last two years. He explained his decision was not one that came with haste to make. 

“It has been a while thinking about it. It is some personal and some professional reasons and I have just decided that it has been enough,” he said. “It has been good; it is not like sitting on any other board … but the village was not exactly what I was expecting. Municipal council is hard to comprehend for some people in small towns like this.”

Prior to council, Allard has also served with the Lions Club, on multiple local hockey associations, and as a member and president of the local Legion branch.

Allard was also instrumental in having a part to play for the village to receive a grant to aid with their centennial celebrations in 2021.

“I wanted to be a part of the decision-making process and I wanted to try to help my community. It is such a good community out here and everybody is part of it,” he explained, citing his motivations to join council.

Village of Standard Mayor, Martin Gauthier, said Allard’s decision was a surprise to him and the rest of council, but the village is grateful for Allard’s time and efforts towards bettering the community.

“He was there, he came in to be council, the same reason everybody else does, is to try and help the community do better and (thrive),” said Gauthier. “He has been good for council – he has had a lot of good ideas and moving forward hopefully we can continue on with making the community a better place.”

A byelection will be held in the new year in order to elect a replacement councillor to fill Allard’s seat. Nomination day will be held on Jan. 29. 

If only one person is nominated or puts their name forward, they will win the seat by acclamation. If more than one name is put forward, a proper election will be held between the candidates for the vacant seat only. In that case, election day will be posted for Feb. 26.

“I hope that we can at least get one person to put their name up. It is a small town so I can see maybe we will have one or two. I do not think we are going to have six (applicants),” said Gauthier.

According to Allard, it is best to investigate what needs to be done before running for council. 

“Keep an open mind on what needs to be done, do your research, then do your research again before making a decision to get in,” said Allard.