Former Hamilton mayor and MP Bob Bratina is running again
Published March 28, 2022 at 6:49 pm
Bob Bratina is hoping to go full circle, from city councillor turned mayor turned member of Parliament turned mayor again.
The former mayor of Hamilton and ex-Liberal MP announced Monday that he will challenge again for the mayoralty in the Oct. 24 municipal election. The Hamilton-born, 78-year-old Bratina left federal politics last year after two terms in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek over his disagreement with the federal funding contribution to light-rail transit in Hamilton. The transit projects finally seems to be a go in the city after more than a decade of deliberation and discussion.
“The LRT discussion is in the hands of city council… I (would) have one vote,” Bratina told a Hamilton radio station on Monday afternoon when he announced his candidancy.
Bratina was mayor from 2010 to ’14 after defeating present-day Mayor Fred Eisenberger and former mayor Larry Di Ianni in a three-way mayoral race. He was previously a city councillor in Ward 2, and was a longtime radio broadcaster whose career including being the play-by-play voice of pro football’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
A statement from Bratina said his foray back into municipal politics is spurred by Hamiltonians’ concerns about affordability. Hamilton has a 2.1-per-cent property tax increase on the way for the upcoming year, but it is also facing a climate crisis and infrastructure deficit. Housing affordability, which is the joint purview of all three levels of government, is also a challenge for the city. Studies last year suggested Hamilton has the third-highest housing costs in North America, relative to income levels.
Three-way race?
Eisenberger has not yet indicated whether he is seeking a fourth term as mayor. Erstwhile Hamilton Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Keanin Loomis stated two months ago that he was entering the race. The first day to file a nomination paper is five weeks away, on May 2.
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The last three-person race for the mayor’s chair was in 2014. In ’18, Eisenberger was comfortably re-elected by a 16-point margin over an anti-LRT challenger, Vito Sgro.
Four years earlier, after Bratina exited to run federally, Eisenberger, current Ward 9 Coun. Brad Clark and Brian McHattie each had campaigns which spent over six figures. Eisenberger received close to 40 per cent support, for an 8½-points margin over runner-up Clark.
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