Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger has said he will not run for a new term.
Eisenberger said in a statement Monday that it was “time to move on to the next chapter of his life” after three terms in office, meaning his name will not be on the ballot in October.
“I have always done my best for the people of Hamilton, and as much as I loved working as your mayor, what I am doing now requires me not to put my name on the ballot in the 2022 municipal elections,” Eisenberger said in a statement. .
Eisenberger said he came to the decision while walking around his old quarter of Amsterdam, realizing that he had “come a long way, literally and figuratively.”
“I enjoyed every step of the journey. But now is the time to move in a different direction, “he said.
He noted that although he has the energy and drive to work today, he is approaching 70 and this may not be the case in a few years.
“Hamilton’s people deserve one hundred percent all the time, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and I don’t know any other way to do it. The decision suddenly became easy, “he said.
Eisenberger said he had no plans yet, but did not intend to “traditionally retire”.
He called it a “privilege” to work with the city’s professional staff and said the work had taught him to expect the unexpected.
He recalled that on his first day in office, he had to fight a severe storm that threatened to flood parts of the city. Most recently, he had to direct Hamilton into a global pandemic for more than two years.
Looking back on his time in office, he said he hoped he had managed to leave a mark when it came to a number of issues such as downtown redevelopment, affordable housing, revitalizing the city’s coastline and public transport.
HORUAT “NOT READY” TO ANNOUNCE
Eisenberger’s announcement comes just months before the deadline for municipal election nominations. There has been some speculation that Andrea Horvath, who recently announced she will step down as NT leader in Ontario after her party’s latest election loss, may drop her hat for mayoralty in Hamilton.
In a statement issued Monday, Horvath said: “I am humbled that Fred considers me a strong candidate for mayor of our great city” in response to Eisenberger’s public comments about who else could become a good mayor.
She said she still had a “serious responsibility” to her as an MPP for the Hamilton Center and that she was “committed to doing everything possible to support a successful transition to an interim NDP leader”, but did not rule out a run.
“I am not ready to make any announcements today about the Hamilton municipal elections. But I can tell you that my heart is always in Hamilton, “said Horvath.
So far, three people have officially announced their names to run for mayor: former Liberal mayor and lawmaker Robert Bratina, former mayoral candidate and head of the taxi union Ejaz But and former Hamilton Chamber of Commerce chief executive Kianin Loomis.
The deadline for registration is August 19, and voters go to the polls on October 24.
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