Setting sights on local politics the other day, was a severe disappointment. I was fooled by the democracy Barrie enjoyed with the mayor we had for the past 12 years. I helped Jeff Leman get elected 12 years ago but I guess he didn’t think this has-been was needed when he tried to move up to provincial politics earlier this year. He lost.
I think, if he understood the situation in his electoral district better, he might have won. He took on Doug Ford’s minister of justice without targeting his opponent’s weaknesses. There were no shoo-ins for liberals in that election.
But back to the mayoralty. I did not go to the only candidate meeting near me the other day because it was a small venue and would be crowded. And there were to be no questions. What kind of a political meeting is that?
I read about the meeting in the local digital newspaper the next day. There are two local conservatives running head-to-head for the mayor’s spot in this civic election. Of the seven candidates, three seem to be getting some strong support. Long-time Barrie reporter, Bob Bruton gave over most of his report to Ward 10 councillor, Mike McCann, former conservative MP Alex Nuttall and deputy mayor Barry Ward. Watching Nuttall and Ward when both were on city council was never an exciting event. I have not seen enough of Mike McCann to form an opinion.
Nuttall was just a one-time MP. His support for libertarian Maxime Bernier against Andrew Scheer must have convinced him to quit. It was obvious that he was out of his depth in the nation’s capital. He appeared to make no contribution. With the narrowness of his win in 2014, he obviously did no want to waste the effort in the next election.
Thinking back to Alex Nuttall’s performance when he was a Barrie councillor was also an exercise in uselessness. I never saw where he made a positive contribution in that role either.
Sure, it is easy to come up with the right promises. Mind you, Nuttall takes them all from the conservative handbook. He says he is going to do all the right things while keeping the tax rate down. That is really a promise to do nothing.
Most of the progressives in town tell me they are going along with Barry Ward. They figure he will screw up things the least.
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Copyright 2022 © Peter Lowry
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