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Letter: The courts should throw out the byelection lawsuit in Coquitlam

The reasons given for proceeding with a byelection in Coquitlam are "poor and frankly hard to believe, at best," this letter writer states.
Coquitlam city hall
Coquitlam city hall. | File photo
The Editor, 
 
Re: City of Coquitlam, council sued for not holding a byelection to replace Bonita Zarrillo (March 8, 2022)
 
I, too, wonder why, as Neal Nicholson states, "I don't know why I, as a citizen, have to do this."
 
From the article I read city council decided not to hold a byelection because of the proximity of a general election.
 
The cost of a byelection is around $200,000.
 
To me this seems like a logical and prudent decision and the rest of council agreed.
 
This was not done behind closed doors or in secret, and council unanimously agreed to send a letter to the B.C.'s minister of municipal affairs to request that the byelection rule be waived.
 
Seems to me that all the proper procedures were met.
 
Why should taxpayers keep spending their tax dollars every time a councillor resigns for a byelection, especially when a general election is around the corner and election expenses are higher than normal, and turnout will be much lower because of a pandemic?
 
This makes no sense.
 
It is nice to see council recognize this and do something to change it. I applaud Coun. Dennis Marsden for bringing the motion forward.
 
Suing the City of Coquitlam and every member of council is not done without cost.
 
I see the legal action was filed by Neal Nicholson and "political activist" Wayne Taylor. There must be more of a reason for their decision to file this action than has been described.
 
Now, the citizens of Coquitlam will be bearing the legal costs associated with this, and the fact that the councillors will be having to take a huge amount of time to address it and may require their own legal representation. This could balloon into massive costs.
 
The reasons given for proceeding with this are poor and frankly hard to believe, at best.
 
Unless there is something else out there — some hidden political or personal reason — and I feel there must be, the courts should throw this out and require the persons filing this claim to pay for all legal fees for both party's involved.
 
Something stinks here.

- Brian Slater, Coquitlam