Hamilton’s 2022 mayoral race has its first official contender

Hamilton | Community | Politics |

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Published January 19, 2022 at 10:47 am

On Wednesday (Jan. 19, 2022), the President and CEO of Hamilton's Chamber of Commerce, Keanin Loomis (pictured) announced that he would be resigning from his position to run for Mayor of Hamilton in the city's next election later this year. (Photo: Facebook)

With Hamilton’s next municipal election months away, we’re starting to see candidates come out of the woodwork and on Wednesday (Jan. 19) one of the first mayoral candidates stepped up to the plate.

The president and CEO of Hamilton’s Chamber of Commerce, Keanin Loomis, announced Wednesday morning on CHCH that he would be resigning his position with the Chamber in order to run for mayor in the upcoming election.

IntheHammer first reported Loomis’s mayoral aspirations late Tuesday (Jan. 18) ahead of his official announcement.

In a statement shared on his Twitter, Loomis resigned from his role at the Chamber, effective March 4, 2022, after almost a decade at the helm of the 176-year-old institution.

“After almost nine years in this role, I am proud to say that, from top to bottom, we have transformed every aspect of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce,” Loomis said in his resignation letter to the Chamber’s board.

“Having accomplished that, and as we emerge out of this pandemic, now is the best time for me to move on to my next career challenge.”

Loomis, a former lawyer who settled in Hamilton in 2009, assumed the CEO role at the Chamber in 2013. He’s also served on Supercrawl’s board of directors, as well as the Hamilton Economic Summit advisory committee, and has worked for the United Way of Hamilton and Halton.

He’s also worked for the Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority and was the first employee of the Innovation Factory at McMaster Innovation Park, among many other accomplishments.

“Serving the #HamOnt business community for 9 years has been such a privilege, but I have so much more leadership to provide our community,” Loomis tweeted Wednesday.

“As such, I am announcing that I will be a candidate for Mayor.”

Just who Loomis will be running against remains to be seen. Mayor Fred Eisenberger has yet to announce whether or not he intends to run again.

Former Hamilton mayor and MP Bob Bratina has hinted at a possible run but no formal declaration has been made.

The next municipal election, which would be the first to employ mail-in ballots, is scheduled for Oct. 24, 2022. Candidates still have several weeks to file nomination papers.

— with files from Nathan Sager

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