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Nominations open Tuesday for Victoria council byelection

Nominations open Tuesday for the byelection to fill an empty seat on Victoria city council. Nomination forms are available at City Hall or on the city’s website (victoria.ca/election) from 9 a.m. Tuesday to 4 p.m. on Feb. 28.
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The Pandora Avenue entrance at Victoria City Hall. Victoria councillors are being accused of straying beyond their jurisdiction and not paying enough attention to local concerns.

Nominations open Tuesday for the byelection to fill an empty seat on Victoria city council.

Nomination forms are available at City Hall or on the city’s website (victoria.ca/election) from 9 a.m. Tuesday to 4 p.m. on Feb. 28.

To be eligible, potential candidates must be a Canadian citizen, have lived in B.C. for at least six months before nomination papers are filed and be at least 18 years old on voting day.

The byelection to fill the seat vacated by Laurel Collins, who resigned last year and after being elected MP for Victoria, is set for April 4.

A scaled-back election will cost an estimated $170,000, versus up to $360,000 for a standard election process.

In December, city council approved the scaled-back approach to save money on the byelection. They agreed to eliminate onsite voting at seniors care homes and limit the communication and advertising done to inform residents of the byelection.

The modified process reduces the number of voting stations on election day to five from 12, but offers more advance voting opportunities at City Hall, with eight stations compared with five during a regular election.