A familiar face has announced they intend to run for London City Council in 2018.
Bud Polhill, who served on council for 26 years between 1988 and 2014 confirmed to AM980 on Tuesday, he will run for council next year.
Polhill lost his Ward 1 seat to Michael van Holst in an upset in the 2014 election. Van Holst, a political newcomer, surprised political watchers by easily winning the election by over 1,000 votes. Van Holst won 50.67 per cent of the vote in 2014.
Polhill was spotted in the gallery at city hall on Monday during a discussion on bus rapid transit by the strategic priorities and policy committee. City politicians approved the updated business case and master plan for the controversial transit project.
Polhill was seated beside former mayor Joe Fontana.
Speaking on the Andrew Lawton Show, Polhill said, “I think as long as you’ve got something to offer, you should offer yourself up and give it a try. I was there for 26 years and I think while I was there, I did a lot of good things and you get affiliated with a group that people don’t like and all of a sudden, you’re out,” he said.
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Polhill was a member of the so-called “Fontana 8,” a voting block that was established around Fontana and drove the majority of the council agenda between 2010 and 2014.
Fontana resigned in disgrace in 2014, unable to finish his term after he was convicted on three fraud-related charges from his time as a cabinet minister for the federal Liberals.
Not one member of the voting block survived the 2014 election. Aside from Fontana himself, Joe Swan ran for mayor and lost, while Polhill, Denise Brown, Stephen Orser, Sandy White and Paul Van Meerbergen were all defeated. Dale Henderson chose not to run again.
Van Holst was one of 10 new members elected to city council three years ago.
Polhill raised eyebrows near the end of his tenure when he filed an expense claim following his election defeat, billing the city for $813 for tires and fuel.
The next municipal election won’t be held until October 2018. London decided earlier this year to become the first municipality in Canada to use a ranked ballot for the election.
Polhill’s announcement comes 10 months before he can officially file his papers to run.
There could be a lot of deja vu in the 2018 municipal election. Matt Brown has already announced his intention to run for a second term while Paul Cheng, who came in second to Brown for mayor in 2014, has also indicated he will run for mayor once again.
Paul Paolatto, the former budget chair for the London Police Services Board, has indicated he’s considering running for city council but hasn’t officially announced his intentions.
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