Mike Savage officially kicked off his mayoral re-election campaign aboard Theodore Too Tugboat in the middle of the Halifax Harbour on Tuesday.
“As I ask the people to re-elect me as their mayor, I believe we’re creating a shared opportunity where everybody has the opportunity to live, to belong and to thrive,” he told a crowd of supporters.
Savage is no stranger to public life. He was a member of Parliament for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour from 2004 until 2011. After losing his seat as an MP, Savage was elected Mayor of Halifax in 2012, with a platform of making Halifax the most livable city in the country.
Four years later, Savage is running on a similar platform — one that also touches on the future of a commuter rail, the implementation of a Centre Plan and removing red tape for businesses in the city. He also took the opportunity Tuesday to speak about his record as mayor.
“When I decided to run for mayor, regional council was widely considered dysfunctional, overly personal and not constructive. Today, council is working effectively, making good decisions, like moving to protect Blue Mountain-Birch Cove,” Savage said.
“When I decided to run for mayor, only 16 per cent of our development was happening in the downtown area, far short of our 25 per cent goal. The last two years, it’s been over 40 per cent,” he said.
At the moment, Savage’s only competitor for the seat is Lil MacPherson.
“I’m running for mayor because I really believe we need a change. A big change. A big wave of change,” MacPherson told Global News.
MacPherson is co-owner of the Wooden Monkey Restaurant and a strong voice for small business owners.
“I see a real need for a small business committee in HRM, to have some support for small businesses. I want to grab the green economy and really support small and medium sized businesses because that is where, we are the heartbeat of the economy, we’re the heartbeat of the city and we’re not getting any help at all,” she said.
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MacPherson says she wants to create a progressive and prosperous municipality. Her election platform also focuses on creating more affordable housing, food security and improving public transit.
Both candidates say tackling crime in the municipality is a key priority for them.
“The nature of crime is changing,” Savage said. “Where once we had swarmings on the streets and downtown violence, it’s changing now, but we do have areas of significant concern.”
“Crime comes from the lack of — when you have someone in your community that has an empty belly and not a warm home and they don’t feel safe and all these things, they act differently, that to me creates crime, it puts people in a vulnerable position,” MacPherson said.
Despite Sept. 12 being the official nomination day, elections officials say they need to wait until 4 p.m. on Sept. 14 to officially declare the nominees.
The 2016 municipal election will take place on Saturday, Oct. 15. For a list of candidates running, click here.
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