Former Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath to run for mayor of Hamilton

Former Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath announced Tuesday she will be running for mayor of Hamilton in the upcoming municipal election.

Horwath said she thought long and hard about her decision to run and will be leaving her MPP seat in Hamilton Centre to run in the mayoral race.

“I really believe that my best way now going forward, to serve the people of Hamilton-Centre, to work for them and achieve for them, is through the mayor’s position … for the people of Hamilton-Centre but also for the people of Hamilton,” she said at Commonwealth Square in Hamilton.

“I’m hoping for everybody’s support … I’m extremely excited and looking forward to the next couple of weeks and months as we talk about the opportunities that this city can realize in the next little while.”

Horwath stepped down as party leader — a role she held for 13 years — following the provincial election in June, after failing to unseat Premier Doug Ford and his Conservative government. Her party held on to Official Opposition status.

Rumours were flying around last month that Horwath could be running in Hamilton’s mayoral race but at the time, she said, “I’m not in a position at this point to make that decision.”

This isn’t Horwath’s first stint at City Hall in Hamilton, as she served as a city councillor before heading to Queen’s Park.

Hamilton’s long-time mayor Fred Eisenberger has said he will not be seeking re-election in the fall after serving three terms in office.

The municipal elections in Ontario will be held on October 24.

With files from Richard Southern, Mike Visser and The Canadian Press