EDMONTON – With Mayor Stephen Mandel finally announcing that he will not seek a fourth term as mayor, the focus has now shifted to the councillors who might take his place when his current term ends in five months.
Mandel did not offer a prediction as to who might replace him after the municipal election in the fall.
“The citizens make a decision and that is the right decision,” he said. “I’m not worried about an election. The people will make a decision and whoever they choose will be the next mayor, the next council, and our city will move on, as I hope it will.”
Councillor Kerry Diotte is the only current member of council to officially announce his intentions to run for mayor as of yet. However, Diotte’s name isn’t the only one making the rounds.
“I don’t think that there is any doubt that Don Iveson is going to run, he has already said he is going to run if the mayor didn’t. It is pretty much certain that Karen Leibovici is going to put her name in, and there is a strong suggestion that Amarjeet Sohi is going to run.”
Although Councillors Iveson, Leibovici, and Sohi are expected to run for mayor in the municipal election, none of them confirmed their intentions Tuesday.
“Now that I know for sure that the mayor has decided that he is not running, that obviously lends the question as to what my future is going to be,” Leibovici said, shortly after the mayor’s announcement at the Art Gallery of Alberta. “I have had discussions with lots of people. I’m being asked daily to put my name into the ring, and I’m going to have to give it some serious thought.”
Sohi sidestepped the question altogether.
“Today is not the day to talk about that,” he said. “Today is the day to talk about Mayor Mandel, and his successes, and what he has done for our city.
“The time will come for us to decide, and we will make that decision at that time.”
Iveson did not attend Mandel’s speech because he was at another event, but spoke to Global News later Tuesday afternoon.
“Today is really all about the mayor,” he said, echoing Sohi’s comments. “He’s been a remarkable city builder and a true leader for the city, and so I don’t think anyone should be announcing anything today. Today is really his day.”
While not ready to reveal a decision publicly, Iveson did say he’s come to some conclusions.
“After long conversations with my young family in mind, I’ve made some decisions, but I’m not prepared to make any announcements just today,” he said, adding he’ll make them known “soon.”
In Taylor’s mind Leibovici’s chances of winning the election could be boosted if Sohi decides to run as well.
“If Amarjeet decides to run, then there are three of them, and I think that might give Karen a little bit of an advantage in that Don and Amarjeet might split some votes,” he said.
“If Don and Karen ended up running against each other, and Amarjeet was not in the picture, then I think it is going to be a very interesting race and I think it will be very tough to figure out who is going to win between the two. I don’t think Kerry Diotte would be a factor in that race.”
Regardless of who wins the race for mayor, city council will also face the challenge of integrating as many as five new councillors into the mix without losing any of the momentum it gained this year.
Mandel also addressed concerns about Edmonton’s level of debt Tuesday, saying that the city is still well below the provincial mandate, and adding that infrastructure development is not possible without borrowing money.
As for the future challenges the new mayor will face, Mandel didn’t say much.
“I think the next mayor will figure that out for themselves,” he said.
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