Natalie Harris opted to spend the evening in on Monday night, having a small campaign gathering with close family and friends at her home in Ward 6.
Harris won the Ward 6 council seat with 39.23% of the vote.
“I feel so, so relieved and so happy,” said Harris, beaming. “I feel so grateful. I didn’t have any idea of what to expect.”
Harris attributes her success to help from her campaign team.
“I can tell you, I had a lot of support from family and friends who helped me cover the entire ward more than once, so I’ve met so many amazing neighbours and people,” Harris told BarrieToday. “I started canvassing in June, it seems to have paid off.”
Harris has a lot of admiration for everyone that ran in the municipal election this time around.
“I want to say congratulations to everyone. I truly respect and admire every candidate that ran,” she said. “I know first-hand how much work it is, how much time it is, how much the families sacrificed to be able to support the person that’s running.”
Harris has been open about her own struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder after her time as a Simcoe County paramedic.
“I was saying to my family and my friends, I’ve always had a hard time leaving my profession as a paramedic. I felt like, ‘Well, what can I do for my community?’ There was always a missing piece.
“Now, it’s filled.”
Harris is looking forward to serving her community is a new way.
“I’m finally going to be able to help my community again, and use ideas that they’ve given me as well. I have pages of ideas from the people in this ward,” she laughs.
At the top of Harris’ to-do list, she wants to first meet the new incoming council and their families.
“So we can all collaborate effectively,” she said.
“Agenda-wise, community safety is big and mental health is huge for me. Even on a municipal level, with the opioid crisis... I’ve been on the front lines and seen how it’s really affecting our Barrie citizens,” she said. “I want to move forward and make sure we’re doing the best we can for people in those situations. So those are top.”
For the next month before she’s sworn in, Harris intends to take a breath while taking the time to visit some residents to say thank you.
“I don’t even know how to breathe, I’m not going to lie,” Harris said with a laugh. “My kids tell me that too, they say, ‘Mom, you can just relax!’ But this is just the beginning.”
“It’s an exciting beginning. It’s still not even hitting me, fully.”
Ward 6 final numbers
Natalie Harris 1,042 / 39.23%
Colin Nelthorpe 153 / 5.76%
Micheline Robichaud 524 / 19.73%
Steve Trotter 937 / 35.28%
