With the nomination period for October’s municipal election having closed at 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon (August 21), Peterborough residents now know the final slate of candidates for the next city council.
Barring any additional updates that are not yet reflected in the list of uncertified candidates on the City of Peterborough’s website, there are a total of seven candidates for mayor and 28 for the 10 councillor positions — two in each of the city’s five wards.
Rob Hailman filed his nomination papers for mayor on Friday morning, joining six other candidates — Michael Eamon, Brian Lumsden, Jacob Méthot, Neil Morton, Keith Riel, and Rebecca Schillemat — who are vying to become Peterborough’s new head of city council.
After months of speculation about whether he would seek re-election, incumbent mayor Jeff Leal announced on Thursday morning that he will not be running for a second term, citing health-related issues and a desire to spend time with his family.
Hailman is the final candidate to join the mayor race. The director of operations for the non-profit Trent Radio who is also a business manager and contributor to Trent University’s student newspaper Arthur as well as a musician and broadcaster, Hailman is a community-based advocate who has served on the boards of local and national non-profits, including the Canadian Journalism Collective and Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre.
Hailman will be familiar to anyone who watches city council meetings, as he is a regular delegate and a frequent harsh critic of the existing council. Most recently, at a June 1 council meeting where councillors debated a winter shelter response plan, Hailman said “the majority of our council are wilful murderers and the remainder are collaborators” with reference to council’s approach to the issue of homelessness.
As for candidates for council, there are now five in Otonabee Ward (including the two incumbents), six in Monaghan Ward (including one incumbent), five in Town Ward (including the two incumbents), four in Ashburnham Ward (including one incumbent), and eight in Northcrest Ward (including one incumbent).
Newly registered candidates for Otonabee Ward are entrepreneur and former provincial Green Party candidate Lucas Graham along with Joe Laton-Trickett.
Otonabee Ward candidate Jessica Correa has withdrawn her nomination, after announcing her decision on social media on Wednesday, stating that a “concern regarding my candidacy was raised with my employer, triggering an additional and more formal review.”
“I was advised that continuing my candidacy was no longer considered compatible with my current professional responsibilities,” Correa added.
Correa is the second candidate in Otonabee Ward to withdraw. Shortly after filing her own nomination back in May, Noella Koshul withdrew her nomination and endorsed Correa.
Along with Graham and Laton-Trickett, the other Otonabee Ward candidates are incumbents Kevin Duguay and Lesley Parnell as well as Chris Potter.
In Monaghan Ward, local evangelist and pastor Aris Metaxakis entered the race last week, joining incumbent Matt Crowley along with Ashley Flynn, Rose Kitney, Jen Lacey, and AJ Shearer. As his name does not appear on the updated list of uncertified candidates as of Friday afternoon, it appears incumbent Don Vassiliadis has decided against running for re-election.
In Town Ward, Nigel Lister is the latest challenger to incumbents Alex Bierk and Joy Lachica, joining Jenni Cathcart and Jessica Kuhlmorgen-Hille. Previously a market development manager at Cambium Consulting & Engineering, Lister is president of the Peterborough and District Construction Association and vice-chair of the board of the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area.
There are no last-minute candidates for Ashburnham Ward, which has only a single incumbent councillor (Gary Baldwin) running for re-election as the other incumbent, Keith Riel, is running for mayor. Ashley Bonner, Andrew MacGregor, and Jason Stabler are the other candidates in the ward.
With Dennis Nephrin joining the race in Northcrest, the ward now has eight candidates competing for the two councillor positions.
Incumbent Dave Haacke announced months ago he would not be seeking re-election, leaving his fellow incumbent Andrew Beamer to fight off seven challengers: Debbie Halstead, Phil Jolicoeur, Paul Lawton, Charmaine Magumbe, Gavin Muir, Jim Wasson, and now Nephrin, who is best known for taking over Kawartha Ribfest when the Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha announced in December 2024 it would no longer be involved in the annual event.
The municipal election takes place on Monday, October 26.
