You can take the politician out of the election, but you can’t take the election out of the politician.
Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman, who says he’s not running for re-election Oct. 24, or even a seat on city council, won’t be sitting this one out nevertheless.
“I do plan to be very noisy this fall on issues I feel should be important in the election, as well as encouraging turnout,” Lehman told BarrieToday. “Having just seen the discouraging results of low turnout (43 per cent in the June 2 provincial election), I will definitely be working to drive up voter turnout in the municipal race.”
Lehman, 47, took an unpaid leave of absence from the Barrie’s mayor’s chair while running for Liberal MPP in the Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte riding, losing to incumbent Progressive Conservative MPP Doug Downey by 296 votes.
But the campaign also showed Lehman people still care about their city.
“The provincial election has brought together a huge number of people who are very motivated to ensure the city moves forward in a positive direction,” he said. “As such, we plan to actively support progressive candidates who will represent their residents and lead the city in a professional and visionary way.”
Lehman said he doesn’t believe in municipal election slates, a group of candidates from the same political party or with a common platform — and this isn’t that.
“To be clear, there would not be any organized participation by my campaign (workers) or the (Liberal) party, of course. We don't think that's appropriate, either,” he said. “People who supported me will no doubt support many different candidates.
“However, with likely a significant number of open wards, and with some radically different views on key issues affecting the city, it’s critical that Barrie elect a council committed to long-term thinking, compassion and moving the city forward,” Lehman added. “We want to particularly encourage and support women who want to serve and may face barriers getting elected, as women have been under-represented on council for too long.”
Two women currently sit on Barrie city council — Natalie Harris, who is not running for re-election, and Ann-Marie Kungl, who is. The other nine councillors, counting Lehman, are men.
“So many people have approached me to say they want to be part of the municipal election, either as volunteers or in some cases as candidates,” he said. “I’ll be encouraging them to support candidates who have experience and values I believe are important.”
Lehman said he will not be using his office (Mayor of Barrie) in any way during the city election campaign, and said Tuesday he would not comment on any of the candidates.
“I will say that given that I’m not holding elected office after the municipal election, my team (from the Ontario election campaign) and I don’t feel the need to stay out of the municipal election race this fall,” he said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Alex Nuttall, Rob Haverson and Gerry Marshall had filed nomination papers for Barrie mayor.
Harris did file, but then withdrew.
The Oct. 24 city vote will determine the next Barrie mayor, 10 ward councillors and school board trustees.
The nomination period for candidates closes Aug. 19 at 2 p.m.
For more information, visit barrie.ca.
