Ram Faerber running for Barrie mayor

Ram Faerber believes it’s time the City of Barrie had a new mayor.

“I am very, very happy that I’ve put my name into the race instead of giving Jeff Lehman a free pass,”  Faerber said in an interview with CTV News.  “Without a mayoral race, we really don’t have an election.”

The recycling business owner submitted his papers for the position in July and is the only man standing between Jeff Lehman’s third term as Barrie’s mayor.

Faerber, 55, ran for mayor against Jeff Lehman in 2014 and this past June he ran as an independent candidate in the provincial election. He was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Doug Downey, who won the Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte riding.

Faerber says his focus, should he become mayor, will be on the city’s downtown.

“The businesses are struggling to make ends meet.  The homeless are also struggling.  But if we have them both in the same place, it’s not going to work.”

He says, his goal is to set up an area outside of the city for homeless people to live and to relocate places that attract the homeless, like the Salvation Army.

Faerber also wants to cut city hall spending and freeze tax increases.