Following Monday's city election, tonight's unofficial results show Alex Nuttall as the new mayor of Barrie.
Barrie was destined to have a new mayor after Jeff Lehman opted not to seek a fourth term. Seven people were vying for the position. Barry Ward finished second with 12,624 votes, while Nuttall secured 13,401 votes, a margin of 777 votes.
Gerry Marshall finished third with 2,745 votes, followed by Mike McCann (1,700), Andrew Gordon (449), Weldon Hachey (315), and Rob Haverson (134).
Barrie city council will have a decidedly different look during the 2022-26 term.
Several of the wards were poised to have a new councillor, including Wards 4 and 10 where the incumbent instead chose to run for mayor — in Barry Ward and Mike McCann, respectively.
In Ward 1, which includes some of the city's older neighbourhoods as well as numerous rental properties due to its proximity to Georgian College, incumbent Clare Riepma was re-elected in a three-person race. Andre Jmourko was second with 969 votes and Constance Elliott came in third with 815.
In Ward 2, which includes the city's downtown, Keenan Aylwin did not seek a second term, leaving six people battling for the post. Craig Nixon was proclaimed the winner with 1,418 votes, followed by Shanicka Edwards (1,044), Greg Peach (607), Tracy Strohm (502), Bob Ossowski (184), and Tif Arshi (70).
Ward 3 was won by Doug Shipley in 2018, but he vacated the seat in 2019 after being voted in as the MP for Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte in the last federal election, which necessitated a byelection. Ann-Marie Kungl joined council in March 2020, after winning the byelection. Kungl retained the seat in what was a three-person race with 2,001 votes, with Ryan Rijo in second place with 424 votes and Zohaib Tahir in third with 327.
Ward 4 was bound to have a new representative on city council as longtime councillor Barry Ward, who also served as deputy mayor this past term, set his sights on the big chair after more than two decades on council. Amy Courser was declared the winner Monday night with 1,134 votes cast in her favour. Tim Abel placed second (770), followed by Robert Newman (329), Dieter Mueller (257), Ajmal Noushahi (207), Donald McLaurin (185), Michael Lewis (92), and Md Hafizur Rahman (68).
Ward 6 was also ready for a new councillor after Natalie Harris decided not to seek a second term, creating a four-person contest. Nigussie Nigussie was the victor with 1,036 votes. Sharon Doran placed second with 884 votes, followed by Kevin LePage (823), Allan Bray (666), and Darryl Duff (41).
In Ward 8, which includes the city's historic Allandale neighbourhood, incumbent Jim Harris won a second term Monday night with 2,877 votes, outpacing his sole competitor, John Webb, who had 763 votes.
Ward 9 incumbent Sergio Morales, who was acclaimed in 2018 and has two terms under his belt, was up against three people vying for his south-end seat. Morales easily claimed the seat again Monday with 1,427 votes, followed by Norm Costello (293), William Rome (251), and Adam Wilcox (135).
Ward 10, with two-term councillor Mike McCann seeking the mayor's chair, had a four-person battle as several newcomers threw their hat in the ring. Bryn Hamilton was named the winner with 1,896 votes, followed by Joy Douglas (1,247), Ken Lloyd (246), and Steven Mirtsos (233).
Wards 5 and 7 were both uncontested as Robert Thomson and Gary Harvey went unopposed to each secure a second term.
BarrieToday will have more election coverage tonight.
Among the school board trustees:
Simcoe County District School Board (Wards 1-3) — Lynn Strachan
Simcoe County District School Board (Wards 4-6) — Dana Powell
Simcoe County District School Board (Wards 7-10) — Lisa-Marie Wilson
Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (Wards 1-5) — Susan van Amelsvoort
Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board (Wards 6-10) — Maria Hardie
Conseil scolaire Viamonde (Barrie results only) — Eric Lapointe
Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir — Claire Thibideau (acclaimed)
