Andrea Horwath has officially entered the race for Hamilton mayor ahead of the upcoming municipal election on October 26. Although she had previously declared her intention to seek re-election, she had not completed the necessary paperwork to be formally listed as a candidate. On Friday afternoon, her candidacy was officially confirmed and added to the city’s website.
Horwath expressed her commitment to addressing significant challenges faced by the city over the past four years, including issues such as housing shortages, homelessness, increasing living costs, and inadequate infrastructure investment. While acknowledging that not all problems have been resolved, she emphasized the progress made in dealing with these issues.
During a news conference on Friday afternoon, Horwath highlighted her efforts in advancing major projects that were previously stagnant, such as the Hamilton LRT, Jamesville affordable housing redevelopment, and TD Coliseum. She also acknowledged the importance of improving cybersecurity measures following the 2024 cyberattack on the city’s systems, which necessitated enhancements to digital services for residents.
In the previous mayoral race, Horwath narrowly won against Keanin Loomis by approximately 1,600 votes. She is set to face Loomis again in the upcoming election, along with other challengers. Hamilton has only re-elected one mayor for consecutive terms since its amalgamation in 2000: Fred Eisenberger, who won in both 2014 and 2018.
Several candidates have entered the mayoral race in Hamilton, including Sasha Austin, Ejaz Butt, Rob Cooper, Paul Fromm, Scarlett Gillespie, Keanin Loomis, Pamela Mitchell, Kevin Walker, and Nathalie Xian Yi Yan. Each candidate brings a unique perspective and platform to the election, with nominations due by 2 p.m. on August 21.