Bob Bratina announces plans to run for Hamilton mayor, says he offers 'veteran knowledge'
CBC
Bob Bratina says he suspects there will be new faces around the council table come October and is making the pitch it would help to have a familiar one too — his.
The veteran politician said he plans to run for mayor when nominations open in May, promising a positive, forward-looking campaign.
"There needs to be a little bit of stability in terms of veteran knowledge of how a city council works," he told CBC Hamilton Tuesday morning, the day after announcing his intentions to run during an interview on CHML.
"I think it's hard to disagree with the fact that you can't just completely throw everybody out and start all over again. There are ramifications to that."
Bratina, a former broadcaster, previously served as Hamilton's mayor from 2010 to 2014.
He was elected as MP for Hamilton–East Stoney Creek for the Liberals in 2015 and again in 2019, but broke with the party over its support of Hamilton's light-rail transit (LRT) project.
Bratina has been a vocal critic of LRT since his time on council. In May last year, he announced he wouldn't run federally again, and teased then about the possibility of throwing his hat back in the ring for mayor.
On Tuesday Bratina said he thinks people are "tired" of hearing about LRT, noting it's "on a course of its own" and in the hands of councillors.
"If I were to become mayor, with the council, I would have one of 16 votes."
Bratina joins Keanin Loomis, who stepped down from his role as the CEO of Hamilton's Chamber of Commerce in January to run for the top job on city council.
Loomis said he'll work to get LRT built and has described himself as an "unpolitician," having never run for office before.
"Change isn't just what I'm looking for, it's what everybody I talk to seems to be looking for," Loomis previously told CBC. "I know I have a lot more to give this community and I'm ready to do that."
Bratina said he views himself as a bit of an "unpolitician" too, saying he's applied term limits of his own throughout his times in office. He said he has no interest in being a career politician, before acknowledging that may sound funny coming from someone who's held elected office since 2004.
The mayoral hopeful also said he believes there's a learning curve to municipal politics and suggested Loomis should have tried for a council seat before setting his sights on mayor.
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