‘Now is the time’: Mayor Eisenberger not seeking re-election
Mayor Fred Eisenberger's name will not be on the ballot when Hamilton residents vote this fall.
The three-time mayor has decided to not seek a fourth term in the Oct. 24 municipal election.
I have always done my best for the people of Hamilton, and as much as I have loved serving as your mayor, doing my best now requires that I not put my name on the ballot in the 2022 municipal election," he said in a written statement Monday.
He referenced late Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's famous walk in the snow" through Ottawa in 1984 that led to his retirement from federal politics.
For me, it was a recent walk through my old neighbourhood in Amsterdam," said Eisenberger, who came to Canada from the Netherlands as a boy and recently returned from a 40th wedding anniversary trip to Europe with his wife, Diane.
On a purely personal level, I have come a long way, both literally and figuratively. I have enjoyed every step of the journey. But now is the time for the journey to go in another direction."
The 69-year-old - who was elected mayor in 2008, 2014 and 2018 for four-year terms - likened his decision whether to run again to that of a professional athlete weighing another season.
Can I play another game? Another season? For me, the answer is clearly yes. As I am today, I am healthy and still have the energy and the drive. But closing in on age 70, will I still have the same energy and drive two or three years from now? I am not certain about that, but the people of Hamilton deserve that certainty.
The people of Hamilton deserve one hundred per cent all the time, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and I don't know any other way of doing it. The decision suddenly became easy."
In forgoing another run, the mayoral campaign is left with two main contenders so far: Keanin Loomis, former chamber of commerce CEO, and Bob Bratina, a former Liberal MP and mayor.
Reflecting on his time in office, Eisenberger pointed to accomplishments, including downtown redevelopment, waterfront revitalization, a $50-million anti-poverty program, a decision to hold the urban boundary firm and advancing Hamilton's LRT project.
He also served through periods of controversy, including a failed bid to build a west harbour football stadium, a massive sewage leak into Chedoke Creek and Cootes Paradise, a criticized response to violence at the 2019 Pride celebrations and an ongoing inquiry into a buried friction report for the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
There have been contentious issues, but it is the nature of the job, and you learn from them, you improve, and you achieve greater success," Eisenberger wrote in his statement.
Eisenberger noted he arrived in Hamilton as an eight-year-old who couldn't speak English.
I am forever thankful to the people of Hamilton for the honour and the privilege of serving them as their mayor."
More to come.
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