Welcome to another issue of #munipoli Matters, where we discuss all about municipal elections and the often unreported area of local government across Canada and beyond.
It seems if you want to find out where former prominent Liberal politicians have been hiding, you might as well check up municipal election websites of various municipalities to see if they are running for anything.
Let’s take a look at one in Ontario and the other in BC, both Liberals, who are going for the mayor’s job in their respective cities.
Former provincial minister wants new job as Mayor
We knew there would be a competitive mayor’s election in the City of Peterborough after Mayor Diane Therrien said she would not be seeking a second term.
Although my earlier surmising of former federal cabinet minister Maryam Monsef’s entry into the race doesn’t appear to be happening, another former minister has put his hat in the ring.
Jeff Leal, a former MPP for Peterborough, has filed nomination papers to run for the top job in this “Gateway to the Kawarthas.” Northcrest Ward Councillor Stephen Wright and Monaghan Ward Councillor Henry Clarke are also running.
From 1985 to 2003, Leal served on Peterborough City Council representing the Otonabee Ward. He first ran as a Liberal in the 1999 provincial election, coming up short against then PC MPP Gary Stewart. He unseated Stewart in 2003 and won reelection in 2007, 2011 and 2014, before losing in 2018.
In his time at Queen’s Park, Leal served roles as a parliamentary assistant before entering cabinet in 2013, first as Minister of Rural Affairs then adding the Agriculture portfolio under the premiership of Kathleen Wynne.
Although all three current candidates have ample political experience, this race will be the first time any of them ran for Mayor of Peterborough.
Over on the West Coast, a current Liberal MP is looking for another gig...
Surrey Liberals jumps into already crowded mayoral field
It is now official: Surrey-Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal has officially entered the mayoral race in British Columbia’s second largest city. Dhaliwal made the announcement this past Monday, running under the banner of his new municipal party United Surrey, promising to freeze taxes in his first year and to fast track development permits.
Another contentious issue is the creation of a municipal police force to replace the RCMP, which Dhaliwal endorses…along with current Mayor Doug McCallum, who has been embroiled in a slew of controversies, such as accusing a woman of running over his foot during a protest against having that police force.
A former political organizer and McCallum supporter, Dhaliwal ran in the 2004 federal election as a Liberal, coming only 520 votes behind the Conservatives in Newton-North Delta. He subsequently won the seat in 2006 and 2008 before losing it in 2011 to NDP candidate Jinny Sims.
Dhaliwal was reelected to Ottawa in 2015 in the redistributed Surrey-Newton riding, defeating Sims and reelected in 2019 and 2021. Sims is now an MLA in the provincial NDP government who also recently announced her own bid for Surrey mayor.
Two more candidates include Councillor Brenda Locke, herself a former MLA, and now former Liberal MP Gordie Hogg, whose career spans 42 years with various positions at the municipal and provincial level as a former White Rock mayor and Surrey-area MLA.
This would give Surrey five high profile candidates to choose from, which if conventional wisdom dictates favours the incumbent. But with the potential of five high profile candidates, this really boils down to the organizational aspect of an election campaign and the ability to get your supporters to the polls.
Liberals seeking greener pastures
If I could just take a moment to reflect on the earlier news above, Leal and Dhaliwal wouldn’t be the first Liberals looking to seek greener pastures in the role of mayor after, or during, their stints in other levels of government.
Former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray, who eventually went on to become an Ontario cabinet minister, mused about running for Toronto mayor when he moved to the city around 2009 (Murray is now running for his old job in Winnipeg).
A year later in 2010, two of Dalton McGuinty’s cabinet heavyweights left their posts to pursue mayoral ambitions: George Smitherman in Toronto and Jim Watson in Ottawa. Smitherman famously lost that year to Rob Ford, while Watson won the mayoralty in Ottawa and stayed in office for 12 years.
This year, there are more than a few former Liberal MPPs and candidates looking for a second lease on their political life. Former Mississauga MPP Bob Delaney is seeking the open Council seat in Ward 9, along with seven other candidates.
Another former MPP, Lorenzo Berardinetti is seeking to return to Toronto City Council in Scarborough Southwest, which he represented at Queen’s Park from 2003-2018. Berardinetti is a former city councillor. Out in Hamilton, former provincial minister and MPP Ted McMeekin, a former Flamborough mayor, just signed up to run in the vacant Ward 15 in ‘the Hammer’.
Former Liberal MP Neil Ellis, who represented Bay of Quinte from 2015-2021, is a former Belleville mayor who is running again for that role in October. Khalid Ramal, a former Liberal MPP for London-Fanshawe, is running for the open London mayoral seat.
Controversial former councillor looking for return
Former Markham councillor Howard Shore has filed to run for Ward 1 Councillor. Shore was elected to Markham council in 2010 representing Ward 2, which was then one of two Thornhill-area wards.
In 2014, the city did a ward boundary change and merged both Thornhill wards into one. Shore and fellow incumbent Valerie Burke were forced to run against each other, which resulted in Burke winning the race with 71% to Shore’s 28%.
That race was said to be a bitter one, so much so that Shore received a reprimand for leaving a ‘Frankenstein’ mask on Burke’s car on December 1, 2014 (the day the new council was sworn in) as the former councillor cleared out his office.
Burke expressed her dismay over the incident which Shore alleged was a misunderstanding. But Shore already had a bit of a murky past before 2014, being charged with theft in various situations.
Shore will face Ward 1 incumbent Keith Irish, who was first elected in 2018 after Burke declined to seek another term.
In other news
Grand Forks, BC: On this border town near the BC Interior, Councillor Everett Baker is running for the mayor’s job as current Mayor Brian Taylor announced he’s not seeking reelection. Baker, 63, ran for the job in 2018 only losing by 56 votes to Taylor. He later became a councillor in a 2020 by-election.
Baker was pardoned for two sexual assault incidents on males in 2008. The incidents occurred between 1976 to 1983 in Vancouver and Baker pleaded guilty in 1997. He confirmed in a Facebook post that he would be pushing ahead with his candidacy, saying it was “an obvious attack by a person or persons trying to get me to step aside from the mayoral race this fall.”
Hope, BC: Mayor Peter Robb is not running for reelection and Councillor Victor Smith said he will be running for the job. Smith is currently in his first term on the District of Hope Council.
Kelowna, BC: Former Global Okanagan news anchor Rick Webber announced he would be running for a City Council seat in this fall’s municipal elections. Webber hosted the newscast from 1990 until 2019, when he retired.
Should Webber be victorious, he would join two other former reporters currently on Council: Councillor Mohini Singh and Mayor Colin Basran.
Neebing, ON: Mayor Erwin Butikofer will not be running for another term after first becoming mayor in 2018. He was previously elected as at-large councillor in 2014. So far, only former mayor Ziggy Polkowski and Councillor Mark Thibert are in the running to replace Butikofer.
Stratford, ON: Longtime Mayor Dan Mathieson’s retirement plans has opened the door for four candidates as of this writing to run for the open mayor’s job: Councillors Martin Ritsma and Kathy Vassilakos, restaurateur Larry McCabe and architect Robert Ritz.
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