Andrea Horwath running for mayor of Hamilton to help city 'realize its potential'

Andrea Horwathsaysshe is running for mayor in Hamilton to help the city"realize its potential."

The former leader of the Ontario New Democrat Party (NDP) made theformalannouncementTuesday morningthat she will leave her post as MPP for Hamilton Centre to enter the mayoral race.

"The work I've done all my life has been for Hamiltoniansand this would be a really exciting time to be part of the realizing of the great opportunities that are ahead of us," she told CBC Hamilton in an interview on Monday, ahead of the public announcement.

Horwath joins three others in the racefor the job: former mayor Bob Bratina, newcomer to politics Keanin Loomisand labour advocate Ejaz Butt. Current Mayor Fred Eisenberger announced last month he would not be seeking re-election.

"Like most Hamiltonians, I'm a fighter. I don't give up until the job is done and I'm also prepared to do the hard work," Horwathsaid.

Horwath, born and raised in the city, was Ward 2 city councillor from 1997 to 2004 before becoming Hamilton EastMPPfor the NDP. In 2007, she became Hamilton Centre MPPand eventually leader of the Ontario NDP.

During her time as leader, she helped the NDP go from not having official party status to being official opposition twice. The party won40 seats in2018 but the recent election in June saw that number decrease to 31.

She announced her resignation as party leader the evening of June 2, once results came in. In the weeks that followed, speculation that she might run for mayor grew.

"At this stage in time, the best opportunity for me to work on behalf of the people of Hamilton Centre and the entire city is in the mayor's position ... the work I cando will be much more impactful," she said.

Horwathsays new policy ideas to come

Horwathdidn't offer many details about specific policies or actions she would take as mayor, saying she is in the "vision" stage of her campaign and will be hearing more from residents as a next step.

When asked what she saw as the top three issues for city residents she said "that's part of the conversations I'm going to be having over these next number of weeks."

She did however sharethoughts on severalissues, from road safety to climate change tothe bid for the Commonwealth Games.

Horwath did sayshe doesn't want to expand the city's urban boundary and wants to ensure the city continues to grow without losingthe"unique character" of the communities withinHamilton.

"Development doesn't pay for itself and we also know we have a significant infrastructure deficit in our city and the more you expand ... you're just adding more and more to that infrastructure deficit," shesaid.

She also said residential zoning shouldfocus on meeting people's needs rather than just increasing the number of units.

Horwathdidn't share her view on the city'sapproach toencampments, which has involvedtent teardowns across the city,but said there needs to be "collaboration" with various levels of government and community agencies for more support on sometimes related issuessuch as addictions and mental health.

Horwath said she sees road safety as a key issue in this election and praisedsome of the city's recent effortsto improve safety byaligning with a Complete Streets approach.

"But also, we need to work on raising the awareness of drivers ...in terms of the car and what it can do to hurt other road users," she said. "We need to remind people that driving is a responsibility and not just a luxury."

Horwath added that greater use of public transit, especially with the development of the light-rail transit (LRT) line, will help alleviate traffic on roads. Shewouldn'tsay if she thinks area rating which sees residents pay some taxes only for the level of services they receive in their area should be eliminated, only saying it should be a community discussion.

When it comes to climate action, Horwath said the city needs to makeall of its decisions through a climate lens instead of a separate department or priority.

OnIndigenous reconciliation, Horwath said consultation with Indigenous groups should be proactiveand done at the earliest of stages on any project or discussion. When it came to the future of the John A. Macdonald statue, which was toppled last summer, she said it wasn't her decision to make but one the community had to lead on.

When asked about fighting local crime, Horwath said both policing and support for vulnerable youthare important, and she praisedinitiatives likeCOAST, which pairs police with social services.

While she said it's important to allowcommunity agenciesto help manage mental health crisesin the community, she didn'tsay that would prompt a change to police funding.

"I don't know if it's a matter of an increase or decrease in budgets ... it's about the people who need the services and how to prevent the services from being put on an organization that doesn't have that mandate," she said.

As for abid for Hamilton to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, Horwath said hosting such an eventcan bring many positives to the city's "sports loving" residents and potentially help with other city issues. "What I would hope is there are positives that come as a result of hosting," she said.

Outgoing mayor and councillor support Horwath

Mayor Fred Eisenberger, who isn't running for re-election, previously stated he supportedHorwath.

Ward 4 Coun. Sam Merulla, who alsoisn't running for re-election, worked with Horwath between 2000 and 2004, when they both were councillors.

Hesaid Monday he was encouraging herto run.

"More so than ever before, we need a strong person with the experience, strength and relationships at all levels of government that will get the job done," Merulla wrote in an email to CBC.

"Being mayor isn't an entry level position ...Andrea was there with me at the beginning of the renaissance in this city."

Merullasaid Horwath helped establish the Business Tax Reduction Program (now called the Business Retention and Expansion Plan),the Downtown Convert/Renovate to Residential Loan Program andthe Environmental Remediation and Site Enhancementcommunity improvement plan.

Mayoral run won't bea 'cakewalk:' expert

Karen Bird, a McMaster University political science professor, said Horwath entering the mayoral race shakes things up, noting there are only two "serious" candidates in Bratina and Loomis.

Bird said Horwath will have some advantages in the race such asname recognition and a "real positive association with Hamilton."

"She's well-known, she's highly experienced, she's a serious candidate and people will be interested in her for that reason," Bird said of Horwath.

Although Bird whose workfocuses on the political representation of women and marginalized groups said Horwath will likely have to reckon with the gender bias of some voters.

"It's still unfortunately a persistent issue, so that can present a barrier to Andrea and to women in general running for the role of mayor," she said. "Yes, she has a shot, but it's not a cakewalk."

In the city's 175 years, it has not once had a woman for mayor.

Birdsaid Horwath is a "supremely talented" politician but noted Horwath'sunsuccessful attempt to become Ontario premier could hurt her.

"A lot of people may see her as not part of a change, but part of a history as something we've tried before," Bird said.

"They may see her also as someone who's not been successful at a provincial level."