ISSUE 20 - Barrie Mayor to run in Ontario provincial election
Three Ontario cities may be seeing very spicy and competitive mayoral races in October.
Welcome to another issue of #munipoli Matters, where we discuss all about municipal elections and the often unreported area of local government across Canada and beyond.
Here are some of the stories surrounding municipal politics and local government that piqued my eye recently around the Ontario municipal scene. It looks like based on the circumstance, we could be seeing hotly contested mayoral elections in three Ontario cities come October 2022.
Ontario ‘Big City’ mayor to run for provincial Liberals, leaving his seat wide open
We first look north along Highway 400, as Barrie City Councillor Natalie Harris announced during the January 31 council meeting that she intends to run for mayor.
Harris, a retired advanced care paramedic, was first elected to council in 2018, defeating then incumbent Steve Trotter in Ward 6. She was the only woman elected to Barrie City Council until a by-election in 2020 in Ward 2 sent Ann-Marie Kungl to join her. Back in November, Harris announced she was not planning to run for reelection to council.
“I have found that the connections I have made, and already had, will allow me to do the same over the years, without being part of city council,” Harris said to Barrie Today at the time. "It has been a difficult few years learning how to deal with online harassment and bullying, but I am such a stronger person now, and thrive in these complicated situations thanks to the ‘practice’ a small group of individuals have provided to me.”
Mayor Jeff Lehman was recruited by the Ontario Liberal Party to run in the June provincial election in the riding of Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte. Lehman will be the only candidate standing for the local nomination, according to this OLP press release.
Lehman, 46, was first elected in 2010 defeating the sitting mayor, a former mayor as well as a former MPP to get the top job after serving one term as city councillor. He subsequently got over 90% of the vote in his reelection bids in 2014 and 2018. Prior to entering politics, Lehman got a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and ran his own consulting firm working on infrastructure projects in other cities such as Regina, Calgary, Hamilton and Burlington.
The mayor also confirmed that he isn’t seeking a fourth term as mayor, should he not get elected as a Liberal in June. “I am not going to run again for mayor,” Lehman said to Barrie Today. “I’m all-in even if I lose. I’m all-in with going provincial and all that it entails,” adding that he will be taking an unpaid leave from his mayoral duties during the provincial campaign.
Upon Lehman’s announcement, other candidates made their intentions known, such as former councillor and former MP Alex Nuttall and current Councillor Barry Ward, while other councillors such as Mike McCann and Sergio Morales only said they are thinking about it…for now.
Waterloo mayor not running again
I previously highlighted that Stratford mayor Dan Mathieson announced he was not running again, and now another Southwestern Ontario mayor has announced his intentions to leave the mayor’s chair: Waterloo, Ontario Mayor Dave Jaworsky.
“With a municipal election upcoming this fall, after much reflection, I’ve decided not to seek a third term as mayor. I’m not riding into the sunset just yet. I’m even chairing the council meeting on the evening of November 14! After that, I’m looking forward to working with my wonderful wife Jan to support the growing e-commerce business and taking more time together to go walking and cycling on the beautiful trails in Waterloo and beyond,” Jaworsky said in his statement.
The mayor also highlighted some accomplishments during this past term, such as the opening of a new library, a new Adult Recreation Centre, new gymnasium, walking trails and fitness studios at the Rec Complex and a rejuvenated Silver Lake in Waterloo Park.
Jaworksy also oversaw the opening and completion of the ION LRT line in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. He was first elected in 2014 with 55% of the vote, and won reelection in 2018 with 71% of the vote.
Trouble ahead for this Ontario mayor?
Meanwhile, down the road in Woodstock, their city council is dealing with a bit of a crisis in leadership as Mayor Trevor Birtch was charged by London Police with assault, sexual assault and sexual assault with choking back in January.
Now serving his second term as the mayor of this small city of about 40,000 residents, Birtch won’t be taking part in meetings on the Woodstock police services board, of which he is a member. He is also not due in court until May 2 and entered no plea to the charges.
As previously mentioned in this publication, short of dying, a municipal politician would have to be convicted of a criminal offence, or violate the Municipal Elections Act in some way, to be forced out of their seat. For now, it’s business as usual, according to officials at the City of Woodstock and Oxford County.
Birtch, 46, was first elected mayor with 40% of the vote, ousting then incumbent mayor Pat Sobeski. He was reelected with almost 59% in 2018.
Stormy waters ahead for Sudbury’s municipal election?
Just looking at the fact that Mayor Brian Bigger was reelected in 2018 with only 28% of the vote should give an indication that the appetite for change in Greater Sudbury was there four years ago. But it showed Bigger is a political survivor despite facing several candidates with solid resumes, including a former NHL hockey player.
For this year, there may be other stormy political waters ahead, as this piece highlighted the potential of ‘rampant misinformation’ that may occur during the municipal election campaign. Some of those claims include:
A city councillor made a video with a mayoral candidate and an apparent homeless man named “Roger” about the city mishandling homelessness in Sudbury, which was refuted by city administration during a council meeting
Another councillor saying in council and on social media that the city had a legally binding build agreement on a certain project, only for the city saying no such agreement exists.
Ward 7 Councillor Mike Jakubo, who already announced he is not seeking reelection, said that he anticipates seeing a “barrage of social media newbies” coming to the forefront in the lead up to this year’s election.
If you’re interested in crawling down the rabbit hole of municipal politics of Greater Sudbury, there is a citizen-driven Facebook group called 2022 Sudbury Elections and Politics, where some have posted that they intend to run in the election.
I mean, if things have gotten so bad that people are now asking Doug Ford’s provincial government to step in and run the city, something must be troubling Sudbury to the detriment of her citizens and to the amusement of the rest of us.
Brantford opens a new city hall
My final story this week comes a bit late since it occurred last September, but somewhat a little more lighthearted when it comes to municipal affairs: the opening of a new city hall building in Brantford, Ontario.
According to the Brantford Expositor, the city spent $26.6 million to renovate the former Federal Building, which was built in 1915 to serve as a post office, at 58 Dalhousie Street to serve as the new city hall.
Previously, the city hall was located at 100 Wellington Square, next to the Ontario Court of Justice building. City staff had previously occupied this and several other decentralized corporate administrative facilities.
There is also an art installation from Fergus, Ontario artist Jane Bowen, inspired by early Brantford local history.
The actual city council chamber has been expanded, with more seating for the public, as seen from the image from the City of Brantford’s notification about the Grand Opening.
If you are invested in your local government’s happenings, virtual council meetings might be commonplace now but nothing beats the ability to gather in person to see those elected to office make the decisions that impact your daily lives.
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