A Cowichan Tribes council seat left vacant after October’s provincial election is being filled by D’Arcy Joe Jr.
Joe accepted the position this week after Debra Toporowski, a five-term councillor, was elected as NDP MLA for Cowichan Valley.
Toporowski also resigned from her seat on North Cowichan council after six year on Oct. 31 after taking a two-month leave to campaign in the provincial election.
A byelection is expected to be called in North Cowichan in the coming weeks to fill her former seat.
According to Cowichan Tribes election code, Toporowski’s council seat would be offered to the runner-up in the most recent election. That was Joe, who received 396 votes in the tribe’s March election.
He is expected to be sworn in Dec. 10.
The Cowichan Tribes election in March saw Cindy Daniels elected chief, which resulted in her removal from the councillor candidate list. The 12th councillor seat was offered to the candidate with the next highest number of votes, Terri Allen, who accepted the position.
Cowichan Tribes, with more than 5,500 members, is the largest single First Nations band in the province by population.
