With a little over a year until the next municipal election, the City of Barrie is looking to hold a byelection to fill an empty council seat. During a committee of the whole meeting on Monday night, councillors voted narrowly in favour of holding a byelection at a cost of $50,000 to replace former Ward 6 councillor Michael Prowse. "It’s always a tough debate when you have to choose between a democratic process, which we always prefer. Our staff did recommend that we appoint someone because there is only eight months left before council is finished the term because of a municipal election in 2018,” says Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman. Prowse resigned last week after making the jump from politics to manager. Prowse has represented the ward for 14 years and will take on the role of chief administrative officer for the city on July 1. The matter will go before city council next Monday for a final vote. If approved, a byelection would take place in October, with the new councillor in place by the end of that month.
