The deadline has come and gone for municipal candidates to file their paperwork at Barrie City Hall ahead of the upcoming municipal election.
Barrie is shaping up to have a few ward races and a mayoralty battle, while one incumbent was acclaimed.
“I think it’s going to be an election to watch,” said Sergio Morales, who was acclaimed in Ward 9 and was the only incumbent who won’t have to battle for his seat. “Wards 1, 2 and 6 are going to be the focus of this election.
“There are some names I didn’t expect to see going up against each other,” Morales told BarrieToday Friday afternoon as the deadline passed and after he had confirmed he'd been acclaimed. “I’m surprised to see Richard Forward, I’ll go ahead and say it.”
The deadline to fill nomination forms at city hall was 2 p.m., Friday. The nomination window opened May 1, with municipal elections being held Oct. 22 across Ontario. The new term begins Dec. 1.
City clerk Wendy Cooke said the candidate listing will not be officially certified until Monday afternoon.
A few familiar faces from the recent provincial race threw their hats into the ring recently as the deadline neared, including Keenan Aylwin, Ram Faerber and Bonnie North.
Jeff Lehman, who is seeking his third term as mayor, has some competition now in the race for Barrie’s chain of office.
Faerber, who ran as an independent in the recent provincial election in the Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte (BSOM) riding, filed his nomination papers at 9:07 a.m., Friday.
In Ward 1, incumbent Bonnie Ainsworth has announced her retirement from politics, so the east-end district is up for grabs.
Nine people are interested in taking over the Ward 1 reins, including Shaughna Ainsworth, Graham Allary, Ryan Cardwell, Erin Hennigar, Avery Konda, Dustin Jankov, Anne-Marie Kungl, Clare Riepma and Cole Walsh.
In Ward 2, which covers downtown Barrie, is also shaping up to be an interesting contest.
Candidates include Keenan Aylwin, who ran for the Green Party in BSOM in the provincial election; Forward, who retired in April as the City of Barrie’s general manager of infrastructure and growth management after 28 years; Yolanda Gallo, executive director of the Community Wholeness Centre in downtown Barrie; and incumbent Rose Romita.
In Ward 6, located in the southwest end of the city, the candidates are Natalie Harris, Colin Nelthorpe, Micheline Robichaud and Steve Trotter, who was appointed to council partway through the last term following the resignation of Michael Prowse when he took the job as City of Barrie CAO.
For Ward 3, in the city’s north end, the candidates are Lynn Ann Hill, Tanya Saari and incumbent Doug Shipley.
In Ward 4, located in the northwest portion of the city, candidates include Daniel Boucher, Bryan Harris and incumbent Barry Ward.
For Ward 5, in the city’s west end, the candidates are Harry Ahmed, Brandon Cassidy, incumbent Peter Silveira and Robert Thomson. Ahmed has previously made a bid for mayor.
In Ward 7, which encompasses the city’s far southwest end, the candidates are Gary Harvey, John McEachern, Bonnie North, who ran in the provincial election for the Green Party in Barrie-Innisfil, and incumbent Andrew Prince.
Similarly, in Ward 8, which covers the Allandale area and down to McKay Road, candidates include Jim Harris, Brian Miller, Shelly Skinner and Brad Thompson.
The Ward 8 incumbent, Arif Khan, is not seeking re-election.
In Ward 10, also located in the southeast end of the city, candidates include Peter Culyer, incumbent Mike McCann and John Olthuis.
Morales said it was "humbling" to be acclaimed, but he knows there is still work to do leading up to the election.
“Councillors in Barrie generally don’t get acclaimed,” Morales said. “It’s only happened two other times in the last 20 years. I think it’s a sign that you’re doing a good job, but it doesn’t mean I still won’t be out knocking on doors and talking to people.”
Previous councillor acclamations have included Mike Ramsay (Ward 1) in 2000 and Prowse (Ward 6) in 2014.
SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEES
Simcoe County District School Board
Wards 1, 2 and 3: Gillian MacLean, David William O'Brien, Neil Trevisan, Amanda Trinacty
Wards 4, 5 and 6: Beth Mouratidis, Mike Washburn
Wards 7, 8, 9 and 10: Derek Dath, Heidi MacNeil, Ajmal Noushahi, David Quigley, Lisa-Marie Wilson
Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board
Wards 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5: Nathaniel Brown, Robert Matthew LeCollier, Paul Rasiulis
Wards 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10: Andrew Hall, Maria Hardie, Corey James Henderson
Conseil scolaire Viamonde: Guy Belcourt, Saveria Caruso, Eric Lapointe
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir: Ryan Malenfant, Claire Thibideau
TOWN OF INNISFIL
Mayor: Barb Baguley, Stan Daurio, Lynn Dollin
Deputy mayor: Paul Best, Daniel Davidson, Steven Fishman, Angela Gravelle, Henry Kooistra
Ward 1: Kevin Eisses, Linda Zanella
Ward 2: Bill Van Berkel
Ward 3: Tara Filteau, Donna Orsatti
Ward 4: Matthew Kenney, Bill McConnell, Christian Pitcher, Inna Shafir, Alex Waters
Ward 5: Kenneth Fowler, Jeffrey Rice
Ward 6: Carolyn Payne, Marc Seguin
Ward 7: Rob Nicol, Don Tata
Simcoe County District School Board: Donna Armstrong
Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board: Jeanny Salmon
ESSA TOWNSHIP
Mayor: David Guergis, Sandie Macdonald
Deputy mayor: Pat MacDonald, Michael Smith
Ward 1: Archie Duckworth, Keith White
Ward 2: Jim Hunter, Henry Sander
Ward 3: Ron Henderson
Simcoe County District School Board: Brandy Rafeek, Robert North
Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board: Cristina Derks-Parsons, Janice Hutchison
SPRINGWATER TOWNSHIP
Mayor: Don Allen, Bill French, Tony Guergis
Deputy mayor: Jennifer Coughlin, James William Sales
Ward 1: Katy Austin, George Cabral, Candi Fernandes
Ward 2: Perry Ritchie
Ward 3: Wanda Chapman, Tyler Seif
Ward 4: Michael Beaudry, Craig Davis, Anita Moore, Kenneth (Craig) Nixon
Ward 5: Jack Hanna, Reet Skelton
Simcoe County District School Board: Peter Beacock, Kelly Kramer
Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board: Peter Fracassi
