Nuttall would foot byelection bill

By BOB BRUTON, BARRIE EXAMINER Decmber 3 2010
Alex Nuttall says the buck will stop with him, if necessary.
Barrie’s newly elected Ward 10 councillor today said he would raise the funds for a city byelection if he wins the Progressive Conservative party’s nomination for the Barrie riding, and if he wins the provincial election next October.

“I never envisioned the possibility of seeking the nomination during my campaign for Ward 10,” Nuttall said. “I would not want to burden the taxpayers of Barrie or encumber my fellow councillors with an unforeseeable expense, so I’ve decided to fund-raise the associated costs.”
Nuttall says City Clerk Dawn McAlpine has estimated the cost of a ward byelection at between $17,000 and $20,000.
Former Barrie councillor Rod Jackson, Greer Hermiston-Campbell and Wayne McCallum are the other PC nominees for the Barrie riding. The riding association’s nomination meeting is Dec. 17.
Nuttall has been criticized for seeking the PC provincial nomination so soon after the Oct. 25 municipal election, and for not making his intentions known during the city election campaign.
He is to be sworn in Dec. 6 for a second consecutive term in the south-east Barrie ward, which Nuttall won easily in October.
If Nuttall wins the PC nomination, and if he becomes Barrie’s MPP – this is traditionally a Conservative riding, although Liberal Aileen Carroll is the current MPP – there would almost certainly be a Ward 10 byelection, given it would be less than one year into a four-year council term.
The provincial election is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2011.