NDP leader is backing Eisenberger for mayor
Provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath capped a frantic few days of election endorsements Friday by throwing her support behind incumbent mayoral candidate Fred Eisenberger.
The Hamilton Centre MPP said she has not previously endorsed a mayoral candidate during her career as a provincial politician, but called this election too important “for me to stand on the sidelines.”
Horwath, a light rail transit supporter, said the election is nonetheless about “much more” than the contentious $1-billion LRT project that a recent poll suggests is dominating voter thinking.
She called Eisenberger the pro-LRT candidate, but also the best one to “move the city forward,” maintain economic development momentum and tackle challenges like affordable housing.
Horwath’s endorsement follows similar NDP-linked thumbsup from MPs David Christopherson and Scott Duvall.
Eisenberger pointed to a growing list of endorsements from a variety of sources, including local unions like LIUNA and the United Steel Workers, community leaders and activists like Evelyn Myrie and Deirdre Pike and prominent past Hamilton politicians like Sheila Copps and Larry Di Ianni.
“The question is who do you trust?” he said, pointing to those supporters, or “the individual with one issue doing transit planning on the back of a napkin.”
Sgro responded soon after in a release that Eisenberger is “out of touch.”
“I’m not surprised he’s dragging his politician buddies out to rattle the chains for him.”
The mayoral challenger has chain-rattling politicians in his corner, too.
Liberal MP Bob Bratina recently offered his endorsement to Sgro, who helped on the former mayor’s successful federal election campaign.
Current councillors Judi Partridge, Rob Pasuta and Terry Whitehead have also thrown their support to Sgro, in part citing his support for suburban and rural voters.