In a surprising late Wednesday afternoon media release, the City of Brockville announced that Mayor Jason Baker has resigned.
According to the city, Baker is no longer qualified to hold office due to his “non residency status” within the city of Brockville.
Baker says he didn’t know he could no longer be mayor when he purchased a home outside the Brockville municipal boundaries.
“It has been an absolute honour to represent this beautiful city. I regret that the purchase of my dream home has unknowingly caused this issue and will keep me from finishing some of the work that we all started together. I wish all of you the best of luck in our shared goal of keeping the city of Brockville thriving into the future,” Baker wrote in the media release.
Brockville city council will declare the mayor’s seat vacant at an upcoming council meeting and decide how they plan to fill the mayor’s position, according to the release.
Under the municipal act, council has 90 days to decide how to fill the vacancy.
Baker was first elected to Brockville city council in 1997.