Ward 4 candidate Tyson Renshaw has withdrawn from the 2022 municipal election race.
The 37-year-old father and business manager said that mounting pressures and costs at his family's business, Coco's Cookies, played a large part in his decision to withdraw from the race.
"I was in this to commit to the city, and it wasn't appearing as though I would be able to commit as much as I could because taking care of my family and our family business, obviously, is very important to me," Renshaw told OrilliaMatters.
"I knew I wasn't going to be able to dedicate as much to my campaign and as much as the city as I wanted to if things continued, so unfortunately that meant pulling out."
He said his plan for now is to focus on his family.
"My goal is to just focus on my family and our business," he said.
Renshaw, who previously had a career in construction, hoped to address the housing and opioid crises, while also bridging a gap he saw between Orillians and city council.
He said it's possible he'll take a run at a council position again in the future.
"There's always four years down the road. It'll give me more time," he said. "Now I have four years to prepare instead of six months, so hopefully I can sort things out and be ready to go at that time."
The decision to drop from the election race was not made lightly, Renshaw said.
"It was a very hard decision," he said. "I didn't take this lightly, but I think there's lots of great other candidates out there, and that made it much easier for me to step aside."
