#munipoli Matters SIDEPLATE - The state of municipal elections across Ontario (Central and Eastern)
Part 1 of my odyssey on the local races across this province for the October 24 election
Welcome to another issue of #munipoil Matters, where you can find the latest updates on what’s happening in the often under reported area of municipal elections and governance spread across Canada and beyond.
The official municipal campaign of 2022 has gotten underway. Last time, I did an updated summation of the campaigns across the 905 and there is certainly a great deal of interesting municipal contests in and around Toronto.
Now we take a look at Ontario’s other “big cities” and the rest of the province, in an update from the piece I did back in June. Because there’s so many municipalities I mentioned, I have decided to split this review into three parts.
First, let’s take a look at Central and Eastern Ontario. Cities in BOLD CAPITALIZED lettering indicate members of the Ontario’s Big City Mayors organization.
CENTRAL ONTARIO
BARRIE: With Mayor Jeff Lehman possibly eyeing a future in provincial Liberal politics, the job is left wide open and being sought after by a list of seven candidates. Amongst the names in the running for the next Mayor of Barrie are:
Andrew Gordon, an entrepreneur and business owner.
Weldon Hachey
Rob Haverson
Gerry Marshall, a former mayor from Penetanguishene and warden of Simcoe County who also, like Lehman, previously ran for the Liberals.
Ward 10 Councillor MIke McCann, first elected in 2014.
Former Conservative MP Alex Nuttall, also a former councillor
Ward 4 Councillor Barry Ward, who has been on Council since 2000
With McCann and Ward running for mayor, Wards 4 and 10 will see a new member of Council. As will Ward 2, where incumbent Keenan Aylwin has decided not to seek a second term for a number of specific reasons ranging from personal mental health to disgust over the current state of politics.
Aylwin even took some pot shots over the state of local democracy because two of his soon to be former colleagues, Ward 5 Councillor Robert Thomson and Ward 7 Councillor Gary Harvey, were acclaimed back to office as they faced no challengers.
Bradford-West Gwillimbury: Mayor Rob Keffer is not running again and Deputy Mayor James Leduc is running for the town’s top job. Other mayoral candidates include former RCMP officer Mauro DiGiovanni, Antonio Garcia and Michael Lotter, who said he is a “buyer/wholesaler for retail companies”. BWG is also getting new ward boundaries for the 2022 election.
Collingwood: Former mayor Brian Saunderson is now the PC MPP for Bruce-Grey Owen Sound, and the placeholder mayor is not running for the post.
In the running are Councillor and Acting Deputy Mayor Mariane McLeod, Councillor Yvonne Hamlin and former councillor Norm Sandberg, who served from 1994-2000 and 2003-2010 and is also a former president of AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario).
Gravenhurst: Incumbent Mayor Paul Kelly is not running and Deputy Mayor Heidi Lorenz, Town Councillor Terry Pilger and Marc Mantha are running to replace him.
Huntsville: Mayor Karin Terziano was acclaimed to the role in 2019 when former mayor Scott Aitchison was elected to the House of Commons. Terziano is not running again and those running to replace include Deputy Mayor Nancy Alcock, District Councillor Tim Withey, Reuben Pyette-Bouillon and former fire chief Stephen Hernen.
Innisfil: First term Mayor Lynn Dollin is being challenged by Deputy Mayor Daniel Davidson. Councillors Rob Nicol and Kenneth Fowler are running for deputy mayor. Coupling that with retirements, that leaves five of the seven Innisfil council seats with no incumbents running.
Kawartha Lakes: Incumbent Andy Letham is not seeking another term. Current candidates include Ward 3 Councillor Doug Elmslie, William Denby, Ward 5 Councillor Pat Dunn, Faye McGee, Jim Riches and Ward 2 Councillor Kathleen Seymour-Fagan.
Meaford: Mayor Barb Clumpus is not running again and the town’s choices for the next mayor are Councillors Ross Kentner and Paul Vickers.
New Tecumseth: Incumbent Mayor Rick Milne is not running for reelection. In his stead, Deputy Mayor Richard Norcross, Councillor Donna Jebb and local news site operator Tony Veltri are running.
Orangeville: Mayor Sandy Brown is not re-offering so the mayor’s job is being sought after by Jeffrey Wallace Patterson, Kim Reid, Councillor Lisa Post and former mayor Jeremy Williams.
Owen Sound: Mayor Ian Boddy is running to retain his role by fending off Councillor Richard Thomas.
Penetanguishene: Mayor Doug Leroux is actually now running for a position on Town Council and current Councillor Jill St. Amant and former councillor Doug Rawson and running for the job.
Springwater: Mayor Don Allen is retiring and current Councillor Perry Ritchie and Deputy Mayor Jennifer Coughlin, are running, as well as Bill Haight.
Tiny Township: Mayor George Cornell is not seeking another term and former township councillor Tony Mintoff and marketing manager David Evans are in the running to replace him.
Wasaga Beach: This might be the most interesting race in Simcoe County, as incumbent Nina Bifolchi is being challenged by former mayor Brian Smith, Leslie Farkas and former Toronto city councillor and self appointed “Wasaga Beach advocate” Giorgio Mammoliti.
West Grey: Mayor Christine Robinson is being challenged by former mayor Kevin Eccles and Councillor Stephen Townsend.
EASTERN ONTARIO
Belleville: Mayor Mitch Panciuk is facing former mayor Neil Ellis, who was the city’s mayor from 2006 to 2014 before Ellis did a stint in Ottawa as federal MP for Bay of Quinte. Kyle Thomson is the third mayoral candidate.
Cavan Monaghan: While former Tory MP Dean Del Mastro now running for the position of Deputy Mayor here, we also have former Peterborough mayor Daryl Bennett now seeking the mayoralty in this township.
Bennett served two terms as Peterborough mayor before he lost reelection in 2018 to then councillor Dianne Therrien. He will face current Deputy Mayor Matthew Graham as incumbent Mayor Scott McFadden is retiring.
Cornwall: Mayor Glen Grant is seeking his own mandate as he took over from former mayor Bernadette Clement when she was appointed to the Canadian Senate in June 2021. The other candidates are businessman James Leroux, local artist Jordan Poapst and Councillor Justin Towndale.
KINGSTON: Mayor Bryan Paterson is seeking his third term in office. His opposition doesn’t contain many high profile names though: Tina Fraser, Skyler McArthur-O'Blenes and transit operator Ivan Stoiljkovic. More changes would come at City Council, where six of the 12 Council seats are up for grabs.
OTTAWA: Probably the biggest electoral contest that sticks out from this region, as Mayor Jim Watson is bowing out after winning three terms in office. There are 12 candidates looking to replace him, with three names that have stood out thus far:
Somerset Ward Councillor Catherine McKenney
Former mayor Bob Chiarelli, who was also a former MPP and cabinet minister under Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government.
Former radio and TV media personality Mark Sutcliffe.
Other mayoral candidates are Brandon Bay, Zed Chebib, Bernard Couchman, Celine Debassige, Gregory Guevara, Nour Kadri, Graham MacDonald, Mike Maguire, Ade Olumide,Param Singh and Jacob Solomon.
A total of 11 incumbent Council members, including Watson and McKenney who’s running for mayor, are not running for Council again. The overall collection of council hopefuls range from returning candidates, community association members, those who ran for all three levels of government, as well as a number of political staffers for MPPs and federal MPs.
Some of the (random) names I picked out include:
David Hill, former Canadian Armed Forces member in Barrhaven West.
Kevin Hua, a former NDP candidate in 2019 and 2021 in Stittsville Ward.
Laine Johnson, director of tenant and community engagement at Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation in College Ward.
Myles Egli, president of the Manordale-Woodvale Community Association. His brother Keith Egli is the outgoing councillor in Knoxdale-Merivale Ward, where Myles is running.
Alex Osorio, a pastor at the Fire of God Ministries, running in Rideau-Vanier Ward.
Marty Carr, former president of the Alta Vista community association, running in the Ward of the same name.
Former councillors Doug Thompson (Osgoode) and Steve Desroches (Riverside South-Findlay Creek)
Erin Coffin, senior advisor at Health Canada, running in Kanata South.
Peterborough: As previously mentioned, Diane Therrien became Mayor in 2018 after winning a 69% landslide over incumbent Daryl Bennett. Therrien is not running again, but she ends her term with some notoriety after telling a group of Q-Anon aligned protesters who tried to make a citizen's arrest on the local police to ‘go f*** yourselves, you f***wads’.
Running to be the city’s next mayor are Councillors Henry Clarke and Stephen Wright. They are joined by former MPP Jeff Leal (also a former councillor), Brian Lumsden and Victor Kreuz.
Port Hope: Mayor Bob Sanderson is not seeking reelection and four candidates are running in his place: Councillor Laurie Carr, Angela Grogan, entrepreneur Olena Hankivsky and Jeff Lees.
Prince Edward County: Mayor Steve Ferguson is running again but he has to fend off three other challengers: Dianne O’Brien, small business owner Kyle Douglas Mayne (who previously ran for County Council) and Terry Shortt.
Renfrew: Three current members of Council are in the running for mayor: Michael Coulas, Tom Sidney and Sandi Heins. They are joined by two other candidates, Callum Scott and Kathryn Windle.
The Nation Municipality: Councillors Francis Brière and Marie-Noëlle Lanthier are running for mayor, while current Mayor Francois St-Amour will be running for Ward 1 councillor.
NEXT: We go to Hamilton-Niagara and Southwestern Ontario!
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