As Barrie's fire chief since 2018, Cory Mainprize is a pretty well-known face around city hall. And he’s hoping the same can soon be said at the municipal offices in Springwater Township.
The 46-year-old father of two, who has been a Springwater resident for five years, filed his nomination papers for township council on July 12. The municipal election will take place Monday, Oct. 24.
Mainprize told BarrieToday he's looking to take the skills he’s gained over his 20-plus-year career in emergency services and put them to use in his own community as a Springwater council representative for Ward 3, which includes communities such as Anten Mills, Minesing and the northern part of Midhurst.
“I love where I live and it’s a great spot. We plan on staying there for a long time," he said. "I really enjoy work that improves the community where I live and in the township in general. It’s really just about trying to use my abilities to make the community even better.”
Mainprize said his decision to run in the upcoming municipal election wasn’t one he jumped into blindly, having done significant research prior to filing his nomination papers earlier this month.
“I spoke to most, if not all, of the current incumbents to see what their time commitment was like each week and based on their interpretation, most of them said it was in the two to eight hours a week. It’s much different than a City of Barrie position… (where) they meet twice a month and the agendas have lots of items on them, but I think from what I am used to, they seem to be less complex than you’d see in some larger municipalities,” he noted.
“That being said, there are some very complex things coming their way. I feel that with some good time management and my desire to always be busy that I can manage both positions," Mainprize added.
The decision, he continued, is also about using some of his skills to make the community in which he lives that much better.
“I never really envisioned working as a politician. I don’t see myself as a politician. I just see myself as a person who works to get things done and can make it better,” Mainprize said. “I don’t really have any other agenda aside from wanting to make my ward and the community in general the best it can be. I don’t know anything about politics. I just know how to solve problems and work with people to get things done, so I hope those skills carry over and suit me well.”
One of the strongest skills Mainprize says he would bring to the table is his ability to work with and communicate with people from all levels.
“In my current position, and in my time in emergency services, you get to deal with a wide range of people. In my current role (as Barrie fire chief), I deal with everyone from our recent employees right up to senior staff, members of council, the mayor (and) the province,” he said. “Dealing with such a wide range of people, you develop skills to be able to work together on projects in order to improve the services that we provide.”
He also touts a strong problem-solving background and the ability to look at problems and make decisions that are based around the best outcome for the people involved — as well as managing large budgets — as a few more things that he can bring to the council table next term.
Mainprize points out that in his role as Barrie fire chief, he manages a department that's almost the same size budget as the entire municipality of Springwater.
“(I have) the ability to look for opportunities to be responsible, develop revenues to offset costs and develop long-range plans to manage the finances we’ve got in order to provide the proper level of service our community deserves and expects," he said. "I do a lot of that already in my day-to-day and I think those skills would carry over well into the position of councillor.”
