Another one bites the dust

It's official: Councillor Tom Jackson won't run for mayor.
Andrew Dreschel's wrote about this in his column today. Here's a little snippet for those of you who haven't read it.
 
Hamilton's mayoral race is turning into a belly crawl.

Councillor Tom Jackson is the latest potential contender who has decided not to pursue the top job in the October election.

Jackson's announcement comes short weeks after businesswoman Teresa Cascioli also ruled out running against Mayor Fred Eisenberger.

That leaves Ancaster Councillor Lloyd Ferguson as the only publicized high-profile candidate still contemplating taking on Eisenberger.

Ferguson, who is clearly agonizing over the decision, is expected to say yea or nay sometime in the spring.

If it's nay, Eisenberger may end up squaring off solely against Church of the Universe pot advocate Michael Baldasaro, a perennial mayoral candidate and the only person so far to have formally registered.

The deadline for signing up isn't until Sept. 10. But to mount a serious city-wide campaign, a candidate will need to get cracking no later than late spring.

And with Jackson now out of the picture, there's not even a whisper of any other credible contender, aside from Ferguson, who's thinking of taking the plunge.

Thoughts?

PS - Folks, the last time we talked about the mayoral race, things got a little nasty. I want to remind you to keep your comments professional.

Comments

[Anon]

He made a good choice. We need someone bran new.

[Tom Robertson]

Thats too bad. It probably means we will have 2 positions on council where the status quo will remain and no new blood brought in.

[Robbie]

Book it. Ferguson will not run. He needs 2 or 3 others in the race to help split votes. It's a calculated decision.
How many times will Jackson play this game? His indecisiveness every election has become enough evidence to never want to support him as a mayoral candidate, never mind another 4 years as councilor. Ward 6 wake up and elect anyone else. It's time.

[CityNeedsNewLeaders]

Good Grief - are there no new leaders out there that can move this city forward Someone with bold ideas and vision who can breathe new life in this city ?

Please - no more of the same old, same old.

Thanks Fred - you did an ok job but it's time for new leadership.

Please tell me that Ferguson running for mayor is a joke?

[LouieM]

Fred is a joke not Ferguson, Jackson or Clark...any of whom would be better suited for the job. I dare say even Merilla would be an improvement.

[Brian Henley]

Councillor Jackson made a wide decision. It is a position far beyond his capabilities to handle properly.

[ed]

It doesn't matter who the mayor is, all they can do is put flowers in medians. The real business of the city is run by the labour union and consultants.

[james]

To the person who called CityNeedsNewLeaders who said"Good Grief - are there no new leaders out there that can move this city forward Someone with bold ideas and vision who can breathe new life in this city ?"

You should check out this site> A guy named Cal DiFalco. The guy's really intetesting and very bright. I dont know why the media isnt jumping all over him. If he decided to run, we would get a leader, but a lot of people would be nervous. Read this article. It sounds like it could be the start of a campaign. We've tried mediocre- let's try smart for a change

Check it out. Kick butt article

http://caldifalcosblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/tranforming-hamiltons-cores.html

James from Hamiltonow

[Kathy hagan]

Please not more of the same old same old for this council. I am going to actively campaign against my ward councillor because of his dismal job this past four years. We need a real clean slate alas I don't think we should hold our breath for new blood.

[Sue-Ellen Mischke]

Oh, hello everyone! Wondered where everyone hung out when they weren't on Have Your Say.

Tom R., you should consider running for Mayor...you came up with a lot of great ideas on the Have Your Say Blog. We definitely need new blood on city council, that's for sure.

[Tom Robertson]

Sue-Ellen...I didn't get any votes on "Draft a Mayor"

[Peter]

Fred is the worst mayor this city has ever had!! Please, someone run against him! We cannot have another four years of indecision and backwardness! We need someone with a vision that is willing to fight special interests in this city, someone who is willing to attract business and jobs. We need smart growth, investment and opportunity! Heck, maybe i'll run again Mayor-Do-Nothing!

[Ned]

Fred is indeed the worst mayor Hamilton has ever had. I don't care who runs against him, I would rather vote for a power rangers action figure than have Fred again. We need to start building this city up again, build and support communities not tear them down.