The city clerk’s office oversees municipal elections, but they also oversee the orientation of the new council, teaching them the procedural ropes as they prepare to sit for the new term. So as we look to the inaugural meeting of council in a couple of weeks, we put the spotlight on the City Clerk who in just 20 days has to take five incumbents, seven newcomers, and a councillor turned mayor into a cohesive legislating unit.

Now that the election’s over, the new members of council have to learn about the Code of Conduct, the Procedural Bylaw, and the basics of good meeting practice. And there’s even more basic stuff that an incoming city councillor needs to know like where do you park, where to you find the CAO’s office, and how do you log into your new, official City of Guelph email address. In other words, you need to know the rules of the road and the keeper of the rules is the city clerk.

And as we countdown to the start of the new term, we also need to consider matters beyond the basics. The clerk’s office undertakes two governance reviews every term, and obviously having a new mayor in charge is going to have an impact on the style and manner by which council business is managed. And then there’s the future: the 2030 election, council composition and ward boundaries, and more! So how does the clerk’s office handle all of these challenges, known and unknown?

City of Guelph Clerk Dylan McMahon will join us today on this edition of the pod to talk about the lessons learned from the 2026 election, and how has the clerk’s role changed to get better voter turnout. We will also talk about how a new mayor will change the style of city council, and what it takes to get the new councillors up to speed. We will also look to the future and how the clerk’s office will tackle the ward review, taking a new look at the council vacancy bylaw, and putting internet voting in place in 2030.

Lots talk about the mechanics of the election and the new council on this week’s Guelph Politicast!

The inaugural meeting of the 2026-2030 council term is on November 16 at 6 pm at city hall. You can see the full calendar of council meetings on the City’s website, and you can get all information about city council, the Procedural Bylaw and more at the “City Government” tab on the City of Guelph website. And stay tuned to Guelph Politico and the Guelph Politico Tip Sheet for all the ongoing updates about city council as the new term begins.

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