The town is actually Witless Bay and the talk is whether the current deputy mayor, Fraser Paul, was indeed a resident of Witless Bay in the 30 days prior to the byelection last fall that saw him win a seat on the town council.
Under the province’s Municipal Elections Act, a candidate must be a resident of the municipality for a period of 30 days before the commencement of the nominations period for an election.
If the court finds Paul was not a resident of the town, then the byelection results could be overturned removing him from council.
The court action was started by Witless Bay resident Lorna Yard.
In her application, she claims that in his declaration form filed by the nomination date of Sept. 27, 2016, Paul declared he had resided at 104 Gallows Rd. in Witless Bay at least 30 days prior to the nomination date.
Yard disputes that claim saying that she has lived on Gallows Road since February 1999 has not observed any indication that 104 Gallows Rd. was occupied at any time over the past six years.
In court Wednesday, many of her neighbours supported her application. Gallows Road residents were called to the stand one-by-one and testified that they had not seen any indication during the summer of 2016 and leading up to the October byelection that 104 Gallows Rd. was occupied.
They testified to not seeing garbage put out for collection, no lights being turned on or off at the home, no vehicles in the driveway, and no maintenance or yard work being done on the property.
Yard had raised the concerns prior to the original byelection date of Oct. 18, which caused the town’s returning officer to postpone the byelection to Oct. 25 while the complaints were investigated.
The byelection went ahead on Oct. 25 with Paul still listed as a candidate.
In his response to Yard’s application Paul stated he and his wife, Marlene, had moved into 104 Gallow’s Rd. in or about December 2015.
He states in court documents he confirmed his residency with the town’s returning officer Geraldine Caul by providing his Newfoundland and Labrador driver’s licence with the listed mailing address of a P.O. Box in the town, and a Newfoundland Power Bill which noted Paul as payee on the bill addressed 104 Gallow’s Rd.
Paul, who is a local developer, noted a history of conflict between him and his business, and Yard.
Witnesses are testifying at the trial in support of Paul, saying that they had visited Paul and his wife at 104 Gallows Rd. and were aware of him residing there.
The Town of Witless Bay is also named a respondent in the case.
Lawyer Joshua Handrigan is representing Yard, while Darren Purchase is representing Paul.
Justice David Orsborn is hearing the case which was scheduled to continue today.
In a post on the town’s website last fall, Caul explained her actions as returning officer following the complaints received regarding Paul’s residency qualifications prior to the byelection.
She had contacted the Department of Municipal Affairs which had also received the complaints.
Caul testified to the same in court Wednesday that she postponed the byelection to Oct. 25 in order to investigate the issue.
On the website she stated at the time that:
“Following a review from the Department of Municipal Affairs, and in consultation with the town's lawyer, I have now been directed to proceed with the byelection.
“The responsibility of a returning officer is extremely challenging. There is very little legislation pertaining to guidelines for us to follow, and absolutely nothing in this particular instance which I've had to experience with this byelection. Municipal Affairs said that this one is ‘breaking new ground.’ That is not only worrisome, but unacceptable in a municipal world where we are guided by provincial acts and regulations. Add the presence of a court action to this mix and there is only one option and that is to refer the matter to legal counsel.”
