Andrea Horwath will become the first female mayor of Hamilton, Ont., following a close win in the city’s municipal election on Monday night.
The former Ontario NDP leader squeaked by former chamber of commerce boss Keanin Loomis who finished in second in voting.
With all 246 polls reporting as of 11:59 p.m. on Monday night, Horwath garnered 41.68 per cent of ballots (59,216 votes) to Loomis’ 40.51 per cent (57,553).
Former mayor Bob Bratina finished a distant third with just 12.27 per cent.
In a late night address at the Spice Factory on Hughson Street North, the Hamilton-born Horwath called the city her “pride and joy” and boasted it to be the best place to “live, learn and raise a family.”
“The candidates brought great ideas to this race … and I know they will … keep playing a very important role in our city going forward,” Horwath said.
The mayor-elect returns to Hamilton’s city hall following two stints as a councillor following elections in 1997 and 2000.
Horwath told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton Monday night was a “nail-biter” but suggested it was not a bad thing with the competition bringing a lot of good ideas into the campaign.
“Certainly I had hoped it would have been a higher turnout, but it was a close campaign because … all of us … mayoral candidates actually were very busy, very engaged,” said Horwath.
Horwath would move on to be the MPP for Hamilton East before becoming Hamilton Centre’s MPP in 2004.
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She would be elected leader of Ontario’s New Democratic Party at the 2009 leadership convention and lead the party for two terms in 2018 and 2022.
Outgoing mayor Fred Eisenberger congratulated the new mayor-elect characterizing the result as a “historic win” in becoming Hamilton’s very first female mayor.
“Andrea will be guided by new ideas, a wealth of experience in how government works at all levels, and a track record of advocating and delivering for Hamiltonians,” Eisenberger wrote.
He went on to promise a “seamless transition” amid his departure over the next few weeks.
With less than a week to go in the campaign, a poll from Mainstreet and iPolitics suggested Horwath had taken the lead in a close mayoral race.
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The analysis, based on a one-day telephone survey conducted last Thursday among 694 Hamiltonians, said 36 per cent of voters were leaning towards Horwath, with former chamber of commerce boss Keanin Loomis in second at 28.7 per cent.
The poll put former mayor Bob Bratina in third with 12.1 per cent.
Affordable housing was a key issue among the mayoral candidates through most of the campaign with Horwath telling 900 CHML’s Hamilton Today it was the number one topic when going door-to-door.
“No matter if I’m in Stoney Creek … in Ancaster … downtown or if I’m in Flamborough, people are really worried about the housing crisis from one end of the spectrum to the other,” Horwath said.
The mayoral hopeful promised to collaborate with non-for-profit advocates and the private sector to expedite some 3,000 housing units across the city that are “ready to go.”
In July, Loomis alternatively pledged to “kick-start” a plan to build 50,000 homes over 10 years in Hamilton by expediting the development approvals if he was elected.
The runner-up told Global News, at Bridgeworks on Caroline Street North late Monday, that he considered the tight race as a “moral victory,” personally.
“As we promised, change is coming,” said Loomis.
“It’s certainly coming, and that desire was so strong.”
On Tuesday Horwath told Global News she was already beginning to arrange conversations with returning councillors and the nine new faces that will have a voice at city hall representing 15 wards.
Engaging residents, better customer service and improving accountability and transparency is what the new mayor-elect pegs as an initial priority in her first 100 days in office.
“I’ll be putting together that table or that group of people to do that review,” Horwath revealed.
“We saw some challenges with the election last night in terms of the process, I’ll be getting together with senior management and the city manager to review some of the concerns that folks have shared with me and others.”
All results in the municipal election are unofficial as of Monday night and expected to be made official by Hamilton’s city clerk the week of Oct. 24.
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