Barrick bowing out of politics
Saying he’s satisfied that he’s accomplished what voters elected him to do, Port Colborne regional Coun. David Barrick says he is not running in the upcoming election, ending a 12-year political career.
Barrick was first elected in 2006 as a city councillor for Port Colborne, before being elected to represent the city at Niagara Region in 2010. He was re-elected in 2014.
Reached Friday, Barrick said that he had been approached by people to run, including many who urged him to run for mayor.
However, Barrick said he’s ready to move on from politics and instead — acknowledging it sounds like a cliché — focus on his family. He explained his children, aged 11 and 13, grew up with him spending a great deal of time away from home as he fulfilled his duties as a councillor.
“I’ve been doing it for their whole lives,” he said, explaining that if he were to be elected mayor, he would also be a regional councillor, not to mention his day job at Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. Time has flown fast, Barrick said, and it’s time to focus on his family, particularly his children, “to spend time with them while they’re still at home.”
He said he’s satisfied there will be a healthy race for both mayor and regional councillor, where as of Friday afternoon there were three candidates registered for each.