Barrie has a new mayor, and despite their best efforts, it won’t be two veteran politicians that had hoped to take on the city’s top job.
Gerry Marshall, who threw his hat in the ring for mayor back in May, was joined by family and friends Monday evening at the offices of Redwood Park Communities on Davidson Street. He told BarrieToday that despite his defeat, he was proud of the race he ran.
“It’s a long campaign, and I can’t help but feel disappointed, but I am proud of our team and all that we’ve done,” said Marshall, who came in third out of seven candidates, adding he’s hopeful some of the ideas he’s presented over the course of the campaign will move forward with Nuttall and his team.
Marshall, who received 2,745 votes, previously served as the mayor of Penetanguishene from 2010 until 2018, Simcoe County warden from 2014 to 2018, ran as the Liberal candidate in Simcoe North in the 2018 Ontario election, and in Barrie’s Ward 3 byelection in 2020. While this was obviously not his first time campaigning, Marshall told BarrieToday this particular campaign was a challenging one.
“This time around, I knocked personally on about 15,000 doors, and of those you’re really only talking to 30 out of every 100. The challenge is there are about 85,000 people I didn’t talk to,” he said Monday night. “It was a hard campaign and I thought we’d have done better than the results showed, but clearly Alex Nuttall, his voice and his logic and rationale to run our city, resonated well and I congratulate him.”
Fellow mayoral candidate Mike McCann, a two-time Ward 10 councillor, finished off election night in fourth place with 1,700 votes.
“I love the city of Barrie and will support Alex Nuttall as the future mayor and if I can help out in any way, I’d be very happy to," he said.
McCann, who awaited the evening’s results with his supporters at 147 Ristorante in downtown Barrie, told BarrieToday he was disappointed with the results.
“Intuition and ego: you’ve got to figure out what you’re following, and I really felt I was ready to be the next mayor of Barrie. I really felt I was the best choice (and) the strongest choice and the results didn’t prove that,” he said. “I could have a pity party for myself, but I won’t. I am going to focus on the positive and move forward. There are opportunities presented every day, and you have to be able to reach out and grab them and tomorrow morning that’s what I will do.”
Despite the loss, McCann said he wouldn’t change much about how he ran his campaign.
“At the door, I was getting lots of positivity, (but) obviously that didn’t translate into votes tonight. I had to surrender to hard work and I put that hard work in… and I didn’t get the outcome I was looking for," he said.
Although McCann admitted it was too early to predict what the future could hold, he said not to count him out just yet.
“I love this city and I would love to see it grow. Time will tell, but I am pretty sure you will see me again," he said.
Political newcomer Rob Haverson, 33, came in last place, with 134 votes, while Andrew Gordon garnered 449 votes and Weldon Hachey — who is most notably known for wearing colourful thongs at protests against public-health measures during lockdown — finished in sixth place 315 votes.
Attempts to reach Gordon and Haverson for comment were unsuccessful, however Hachey told BarrieToday he didn’t trust the voting system.
“I don’t mean to be a sore loser, but I am one of the most recognized people in Barrie. Everywhere I go people wave and honk. I had a convoy on Sunday with 60 people alone … and there’s no way after almost three years of me protesting … I don’t believe it, not a chance. Not 315,” he said. “I am certainly not giving up. I just need to take a step back and rethink my plan and move forward, but I am not done that’s for sure.
