Following up on his reinstatement of Sandy Shantz as Woolwich mayor, Justice D.A. Broad this week released his written endorsement of the decision, setting out his reasons for supporting Shantz’s application.

Calling the technical violations “trivial,” he found it was appropriate to grant Shantz relief from the provisions of the Municipal Elections Act that removed her from office July 8. Broad’s decision was delivered at a July 23 court hearing in Kitchener.

Shantz had applied to the court for relief after being removed from office for failing to file proper paperwork in relation to expenses from last fall’s municipal election. She acknowledged her original expense report was inaccurate, submitting a new, audited statement to a Municipal Election Compliance Audit Committee (MECAC) meeting on July 2.

Elmira resident Alan Marshall, who brought to light the problems with Shantz’s original filing, argued that the act was clear, however, about Shantz being in default by failing to submit the paperwork before the deadline. That prompted Woolwich to seek out legal advice, culminating in the notice of default served July 8.

Broad’s summation of the court proceedings was released on Friday.

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