On Monday October 18th, the town of Westport held a by-election to fill a vacant council seat left by former councilor Melissa Sullivan who resigned for personal reasons in May of this year. Council opted to fill the vacancy by by-election rather than appointment. When the votes were counted on the 18th, life-long resident Ami Carty won with 167 of the 363 votes cast. Her next closest opponent was Frank Huth who took 148 votes. The by-election was estimated to have cost approximately $2K.
Ami’s win came almost 39 years to the day after her mother Rita Merkley won her election to become Westport’s first female councilor in 1982.
Hometown News spoke with Ami who said she fully intends to run in the next municipal election slated for October of next year. She’s employed with the Upper Canada District School Board as an elementary teacher and has been involved as a local hockey executive volunteer among other community activities for years. She believes her ‘younger’ voice will be a helpful addition to the mix around the council table. She told us she feels off-season tourism and affordable housing are two of the major issues affecting Westport today. On the housing front she acknowledged the work of existing committees and would like to build upon that with some brainstorming sessions. She also admits that Westport’s new residential subdivision, Watercolour Westport has received mixed reactions from locals but welcomes the new tax revenue to help move forward.
She also feels that the town could do more to make people aware of its accomplishments and plans. Ami has been duly sworn in and is looking forward to taking her seat at the council table.
Article by Brian Turner
