Sgro launches mayoral campaign with big fundraiser
Ladies and gentlemen, it appears Hamilton has a real mayoral race on its hands.
Mayoral challenger Vito Sgro held his first campaign fundraiser Thursday night at the Michelangelo Banquet Centre on the Mountain. And, according to key campaign organizer Javid Mirza, more than 500 tickets were sold for the $250-a-plate dinner.
Certainly there were more than 400 people in attendance, including freshly minted Conservative MPP Donna Skelly.
Sgro used the occasion to succinctly stake out his opposition to the $1-billion LRT system as a cornerstone of his campaign.
He pointed to Premier Doug Ford’s election promise to let Hamilton use the LRT money for other infrastructure projects as proof it’s not a “done deal.”
“All we need is a simple majority of the new council to decide what we want to do.”
Sgro disputed the claim that too much money has already been spent on the project to dump it. Citing an earlier Metrolinx communication, he said $74 million has been invested, including $19 million on property acquisition, about $16 million on staff costs, and the remainder on studies which, he said, could be used on other projects. He also maintained the economic uplift numbers for LRT are insufficient to justify the project.
Sgro blamed Mayor Fred Eisenberger for being “fixated” on a project, which, he said, has divided the city.
Sgro’s own vision is to follow the city’s existing Rapid Ready plan, using express bus routes and possibly bus rapid transit to connect various communities. He says the remaining $400 million or so could be used to fix roads, expand lanes on the Linc, and creating a fund to study future transportation modes.
He said as the campaign unfolds, he intends to talk about ways to tackle poverty and will form a stakeholder committee to present a plan within 90 days for creating 1,000 units of affordable housing.
In an interview, Sgro said the fundraiser will be the biggest of his campaign but he expects to do smaller events down the road. He figures the dinner alone raised about half the money he needs to mount a strong campaign.
Sgro is the first among a total of 15 mayoral candidates to hold a major fundraiser. Other than Eisenberger, who is seeking reelection, it’s not at all clear how many others will have the organization to follow suit.
Eisenberger says no dates have been set yet but he’s planning fundraising events for later this month and September.
“It costs over $100,000 to run a campaign. We did it with $108,000 last time (in 2014). I anticipate we’ll raise more but I’m not going to put a number to it.”
Sgro, a chartered accountant and veteran Liberal campaign planner, is running a non-partisan campaign but, nonetheless, his east Hamilton Liberal roots were showing at Michelangelo’s.
Michelle Stockwell, who unsuccessfully ran for the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek federal Liberals in 2011, was the master of ceremonies. And former Liberal MP and cabinet minister Tony Valeri introduced Sgro, praising his “commitment, enthusiasm and passion.”
Sgro is a former president of the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek federal riding association. Not all present were Liberals, though. Witness Skelly.
She said she attended to hear Sgro’s message. So far, she likes his emphasis on infrastructure and alternatives to LRT, which she opposed as a city councillor.
“This is a serious contender with a serious message,” Skelly said in a brief interview.
One successful event does not a campaign make, of course. But it’s an attention-grabbing start.
The other mayoral candidates are: Edward Graydon, Phil Ryerson, Nathalie Xian Yi Yan, Todd May, Carlos Gomes, Ute Schmid-Jones, Paul Fromm, Jim Davis, Henry Geissler, Michael Pattison, George Rusich and Mark Wozny.