Hamilton mayoral candidate Bob Bratina has COVID-19
A positive test for COVID-19 has forced Hamilton mayoral candidate Bob Bratina off the debate stage.
Bratina had to forgo a Tuesday morning candidates' breakfast hosted by local construction and real estate industry groups and will miss the Oct. 24 election's televised debate.
The 78-year-old former MP and mayor tested positive late Monday night, his campaign said via email.
Bob is feeling alright. He has suggested that the worst of the symptoms may have passed and it currently feels like an incredibly bad cold."
Bratina had hoped to participate in Tuesday evening's televised Cable 14 debate in a potential hybrid version."
Cable 14 plans to record a two-minute introductory statement from the candidate that it will incorporate into the show, said Bill Custers, senior manager of broadcast.
But it's too late to accommodate the candidate virtually due to technical requirements at the Westdale Theatre, Custers noted. If we were in the studio, it would be a little bit easier."
That leaves fellow mayoral hopefuls Andrea Horwath and Keanin Loomis to duke it out on the theatre's debate stage.
Both wished Bratina a speedy recovery as Tuesday's breakfast meeting got underway before roughly 200 guests at Carmen's Banquet Centre on Stone Church Road East.
Together as HamiltoNEXT, a non-profit alliance, the Hamilton-Halton Construction Association, West End Home Builders' Association and Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington hosted the session.
Horwath and Loomis fielded questions about drawing well-paying jobs to Hamilton; infrastructure, transit and transportation investment, including LRT; investment and business expansion; the housing crisis; spending tax dollars amid runaway inflation; and climate change.
Bratina plans to self-isolate in coming days but continue to campaign and connect with residents from home," his team said.
Unfortunately, this week was jam packed with meet and greets with the candidate across the city and we are currently working with the organizers to identify a path forward."
Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com