Andrea Horwath has made her official entry into the Hamilton mayoral race for the upcoming Oct. 26 municipal election. While she had previously declared her intent to seek re-election, she had not completed the necessary paperwork to be included as an official candidate. On Friday, she was formally listed as a candidate on the city’s website.

In a news release, Horwath reflected on the significant challenges faced by the city in the past four years, including issues such as housing and homelessness, cost of living, neighborhood pressures, and infrastructure underinvestment. She acknowledged that while not all problems have been solved, progress has been made, and she expressed her commitment to share more details about her campaign in the future.

During a news conference on Friday afternoon, Horwath highlighted her achievements in advancing major projects that were previously stagnant, such as the Hamilton LRT, Jamesville affordable housing redevelopment, and TD Coliseum. She also mentioned the importance of enhancing cybersecurity measures following the 2024 cyberattack on city systems, emphasizing the need to further improve digital services for residents.

The last mayoral race in which Horwath narrowly clinched victory over Keanin Loomis by approximately 1,600 votes was in October 2022. This year, she will once again face Loomis and several other challengers. Notably, since the city’s amalgamation in 2000, only one mayor, Fred Eisenberger, has been re-elected for consecutive terms in 2014 and 2018.

A list of current mayoral candidates in Hamilton includes Sasha Austin, Ejaz Butt, Rob Cooper, Paul Fromm, Scarlett Gillespie, Andrea Horwath, Keanin Loomis, Pamela Mitchell, Kevin Walker, and Nathalie Xian Yi Yan, with nomination forms due by 2 p.m. on August 21. Each candidate brings unique backgrounds and platforms to the election, with a diverse range of priorities and visions for the city’s future.