Jeffrey Robert Lehman
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Robert Lehman (born June 1975) is an economist and current mayor of Barrie, Ontario
. The Chairman of the Finance Committee of Council, he has played a central role in many of the issues affecting the City of Barrie during the current term of Council
(2006–2010). As an economist, his work specializes in managing growth and investing in urban infrastructure, and he has served as an advisor to many large Canadian cities including Calgary
, Ottawa
, Waterloo Region, Regina
, and Hamilton
.
in 1977. He attended Allandale Heights Public School, and Barrie Central Collegiate Institute
. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University, and earned a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics
(LSE), graduating with first class honours. His parents, Bob and Joan Lehman, founded Lehman and Associates, a land use planning firm, in 1978; Jeff worked in this family business while he was growing up. He currently lives near downtown Barrie with his wife, Jennifer, a part-time professor of political science
, and his baby daughter, Cassie.
for two years as an academic. He taught urban and housing economics while helping to set up the Cities Programme at the Department of Socioloigy of the LSE, an academic program that links social science, architecture, and planning.
on projects that included a new district library, expansions to two community centres, and a plan to reduce corporate real estate costs following the amalgamation of the City of Ottawa and surrounding regions, which ultimately reduced costs by some $4M.
Lehman co-founded MKI, a small economics advisory firm, in 2002. Lehman’s work has included planning new transit systems in Waterloo
, Ottawa
and Toronto
, and planning for new jobs in Regina
, Calgary
, Hamilton
, Niagara, and Burlington
. Lehman has been a keynote speaker at a number of national conferences on subjects such as public transit and smart growth
.
Lehman was elected to Barrie City Council
in the municipal election in November 2006, representing Ward 2, the City Centre. The race for the Ward 2 seat was a close three-way battle early on, but Lehman pulled away in the autumn and easily won the election with 49.98% of the vote, falling just one vote short of an absolute majority.
Lehman was elected by his peers as the Chairman of the Finance Committee of Council in 2007, and later, was chosen as the Chair of the City’s Growth Management Working Group in 2008.
In February 2010 Lehman announced that he would be a candidate for mayor for the City of Barrie in the October 2010 elections.
Lehman won the election for Mayor on October 25, 2010, succeeding Mayor Dave Aspden
. He won with 39% of the votes. He was sworn in as the 46th Mayor of Barrie on December 6, 2010.
over a boundary dispute; talks had broken down and the City, Town of Innisfil, and County of Simcoe were battling over contrasting visions for how the area should grow. At the heart of the dispute was whether additional jobs and population should be allocated to the City of Barrie, or dispersed among the 16 municipalities in Simcoe County; Barrie argued growth should occur in cities with urban services. In June 2009, the Province of Ontario stepped in and resolved the dispute, awarding Barrie additional lands for growth and the lion's share of the additional jobs. The resolution was seen as a major win for the City of Barrie.
. The strategy was innovative, as it focused on neighbourhoods, instead of considering services city-wide, and because it was citizen-led. The project was co-ordinated by a committee of 16 volunteers from the 7 historic neighbourhoods. It was approved by City Council in June 2010.
Lehman played a prominent role in the battle to save two schools in his ward, Prince of Wales PS
and Barrie Central Collegiate, including starting a Facebook
group called “Save Barrie Central”, which attracted 3,000 members in its first week.
Lehman has also worked on issues related to small business in Barrie, including eliminating the basic business license fee.
Barrie, Ontario
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, approximately 90 km north of Toronto. Although located in Simcoe County, the city is politically independent...
. The Chairman of the Finance Committee of Council, he has played a central role in many of the issues affecting the City of Barrie during the current term of Council
Barrie City Council
Barrie City Council is the governing body for the City of Barrie, in Ontario, Canada.The council consists of the Mayor of Barrie and ten councillors, who represent the ten wards of the city...
(2006–2010). As an economist, his work specializes in managing growth and investing in urban infrastructure, and he has served as an advisor to many large Canadian cities including Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Waterloo Region, Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
, and Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
.
Background
Lehman was raised in Barrie, moving from TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in 1977. He attended Allandale Heights Public School, and Barrie Central Collegiate Institute
Barrie Central Collegiate Institute
Barrie Central Collegiate Institute is a public secondary school located in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The oldest school in Simcoe County, it was founded in 1843, and currently has an enrollment of about 1050 students. The administrative staff includes Mr. Russell Atkinson , Ms. Linda Kuehr and Mr....
. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University, and earned a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(LSE), graduating with first class honours. His parents, Bob and Joan Lehman, founded Lehman and Associates, a land use planning firm, in 1978; Jeff worked in this family business while he was growing up. He currently lives near downtown Barrie with his wife, Jennifer, a part-time professor of political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
, and his baby daughter, Cassie.
Academic career
Following graduating with a Master’s degree in Regional & Urban Planning from the London School of Economics, Lehman was hired to teach at the LSE following his graduation, and continued to live and work in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for two years as an academic. He taught urban and housing economics while helping to set up the Cities Programme at the Department of Socioloigy of the LSE, an academic program that links social science, architecture, and planning.
Business career
Lehman has worked for cities across the country to manage redevelopment and plan investment in their urban infrastructure. In 2000-2001, he worked with the City of OttawaCity of Ottawa
The City of Ottawa is the corporate entity of municipal government in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The corporation is responsible for provision of services to the public as well as enforcement of municipal by-laws...
on projects that included a new district library, expansions to two community centres, and a plan to reduce corporate real estate costs following the amalgamation of the City of Ottawa and surrounding regions, which ultimately reduced costs by some $4M.
Lehman co-founded MKI, a small economics advisory firm, in 2002. Lehman’s work has included planning new transit systems in Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, and planning for new jobs in Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
, Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Niagara, and Burlington
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...
. Lehman has been a keynote speaker at a number of national conferences on subjects such as public transit and smart growth
Smart growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a...
.
Political career
In 2005, Lehman established the Growing By Degrees task force to expand post-secondary education opportunities for students in Barrie. This volunteer organization has worked for the last five years to help grow university and college programs in Barrie.Lehman was elected to Barrie City Council
Barrie City Council
Barrie City Council is the governing body for the City of Barrie, in Ontario, Canada.The council consists of the Mayor of Barrie and ten councillors, who represent the ten wards of the city...
in the municipal election in November 2006, representing Ward 2, the City Centre. The race for the Ward 2 seat was a close three-way battle early on, but Lehman pulled away in the autumn and easily won the election with 49.98% of the vote, falling just one vote short of an absolute majority.
Lehman was elected by his peers as the Chairman of the Finance Committee of Council in 2007, and later, was chosen as the Chair of the City’s Growth Management Working Group in 2008.
In February 2010 Lehman announced that he would be a candidate for mayor for the City of Barrie in the October 2010 elections.
Lehman won the election for Mayor on October 25, 2010, succeeding Mayor Dave Aspden
Dave Aspden
David Aspden served one term as the 45th mayor of Barrie, Ontario from 2006 - 2010.Aspden defeated incumbent Mayor Robert J. Hamilton in the 2006 municipal election by a margin of 14,616 to 12,175 votes....
. He won with 39% of the votes. He was sworn in as the 46th Mayor of Barrie on December 6, 2010.
Boundary dispute
Lehman led the City’s political battle with neighbouring InnisfilInnisfil, Ontario
Innisfil is a town in Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe in Simcoe County, immediately south of Barrie and 80 kilometres north of Toronto...
over a boundary dispute; talks had broken down and the City, Town of Innisfil, and County of Simcoe were battling over contrasting visions for how the area should grow. At the heart of the dispute was whether additional jobs and population should be allocated to the City of Barrie, or dispersed among the 16 municipalities in Simcoe County; Barrie argued growth should occur in cities with urban services. In June 2009, the Province of Ontario stepped in and resolved the dispute, awarding Barrie additional lands for growth and the lion's share of the additional jobs. The resolution was seen as a major win for the City of Barrie.
Other major initiatives
In 2008, Lehman created the Historic Neighbourhoods Strategy. The HNS is a plan for the older neighbourhoods in Barrie, generally those built before World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The strategy was innovative, as it focused on neighbourhoods, instead of considering services city-wide, and because it was citizen-led. The project was co-ordinated by a committee of 16 volunteers from the 7 historic neighbourhoods. It was approved by City Council in June 2010.
Lehman played a prominent role in the battle to save two schools in his ward, Prince of Wales PS
Prince of Wales Public School (Barrie)
Prince of Wales Public School, built in 1876, was the oldest elementary school in the Simcoe County District School Board. The school was located in downtown Barrie, Ontario, Candada and shared a field with neighbouring Barrie Central Collegiate Institute. It was one of two elementary schools in...
and Barrie Central Collegiate, including starting a Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
group called “Save Barrie Central”, which attracted 3,000 members in its first week.
Lehman has also worked on issues related to small business in Barrie, including eliminating the basic business license fee.