Steven Del Duca, Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party, announced that Mayor Jeff Lehman intends to run as the party’s candidate for Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte in the upcoming provincial election.
Lehman has served as Mayor of Barrie since 2010 and is Chair of Ontario’s Big City Mayors Caucus.
A formal nomination meeting, where Mayor Lehman will be the only candidate eligible to stand for nomination, will be held in the coming weeks.
Jeff Lehman will take an unpaid leave as Mayor of Barrie and has no plans to return to municipal politics.
“Jeff Lehman has provided Barrie with steady, strong leadership for the last twelve years” said Ontario Liberal Leader, Steven Del Duca. “Steady, strong leadership is exactly what Ontario Liberals are going to bring to Queen’s Park and Jeff is the kind of leader I want on my team to clean up Doug Ford’s mess.”
An economist who previously taught at the London School of Economics, Lehman’s three terms as mayor have been characterized by booming job growth and entrepreneurial spirit, and record-low crime rates. In the past two elections Mayor Lehman was re-elected with more than 90% of the popular vote according to the media release.
“I’m proud to be running for Steven Del Duca and his strong team of Ontario Liberals. The momentum for steady and competent leadership at Queen’s Park is growing. We need a government that will fight for families and just get things done.” said Mayor Lehman. “I’ve always been proud to serve the people of Barrie as Mayor and am thankful for their continuous support. I’m proud to continue fighting for the families of Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte at Queen’s Park.”
SOURCE Ontario Liberal Party