Hamilton's mayoral race heats up. Here's what the four candidates are offering right now

With Andrea Horwath the latest to add her name to the roster of Hamilton mayoral candidates, city residents now have four options to choose from in this fall's municipal election.

The former Ontario NDP leader announced her candidacy formally Tuesday morning.

Running alongside her are former mayor and MP Bob Bratina, former president and CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce Keanin Loomis, and veteran taxi industry leader Ejaz Butt. Mortgage broker Steven Hencze had registered but by Monday afternoon had withdrawn from the race.

With the Aug. 19 deadline for candidates to register less than a month away, here's what we know about mayoral candidates so far:

'Unpolitician' Keanin Loomis 

Loomis was the first to put his hat in the ring, doing so the day registration opened on May 2, giving his campaign a head start over others.

The 47-year-old was born in Oswego, New York, and moved to Hamilton in 2009 after practicing law for five years in Washington D.C. He graduated from the University of Waterloo and the William and Mary School of Law in the U.S.

In Hamilton, he was the president and CEO of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, where he worked for nine years until he stepped down in January. He lives in the west end with his wife and three children.

Loomis has described himself as an "unpolitician," having never run for office before.

"Change isn't just what I'm looking for, it's what everybody I talk to seems to be looking for," Loomis previously told CBC. "I know I have a lot more to give this community and I'm ready to do that."

Loomis's campaign is focused on four main themes. According to his website, his vision for city hall includes building trust through transparency, repairing relationships, and respecting "community contributions to decision-making."

He also promises to make it "easier for citizens to provide input" to the city. This includes enhancing the city's responsiveness to feedback, stopping "bickering" at council, and investing in pedestrian safety.

"Bringing positive, sustainable culture change to city hall will be my number one priority because if you don't have that right, you can't get anything else right," he said May 2 after filing his nomination.

Loomis's policies around a "safe, clean and healthy Hamilton" would include lowering the city's carbon footprint and protecting nature — including the Greenbelt and Cootes Paradise.

By far, however, the most extensive vision he has put forward is his "Homes for Hamilton" project, where he's aiming to build 50,000 new homes across Hamilton, according to his website.

"[The program] aims to make several changes that will encourage and enable more homes to be built, including co-ops, rental apartment buildings, duplex and triplex buildings, and in-law suites," the plan says. 

The changes include sticking to the urban boundary to "protect our farmlands, combat our infrastructure deficit and keep property taxes low."

Loomis is also aiming to modernize zoning bylaws, lower affordable housing rates, build housing along transit corridors and work towards partnerships with higher government tiers to help his non-profit partners overcome roadblocks to affordable housing, he says. 

Bob Bratina, former mayor

Bob Bratina, 77, is a familiar face and a veteran politician in Hamilton, where he was born and raised.

He served as a councillor for Ward 2 and later as mayor of the city. 

Bratina later served as MP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek for the Liberals, but broke with the party over its support of Hamilton's light-rail transit (LRT) project.

Bratina has been a vocal critic of LRT since his time on council. In May last year, he announced he wouldn't run federally again, and teased then about the possibility of joining the next race for mayor.

"There needs to be a little bit of stability in terms of veteran knowledge of how a city council works," he told CBC Hamilton the day after announcing his intentions to run in March.

"I think it's hard to disagree with the fact that you can't just completely throw everybody out and start all over again. There are ramifications to that."

Bratina told CBC Hamilton in an email Monday he is "like other Hamiltonians" interested to hear what Horwath's plans are.

"I have always had a friendly relationship with Andrea and whatever the future holds I would expect that to continue," he said. 

Bratina said he would be sharing his vision for the city in greater detail soon on a new website soon. "Although we have several policies to announce the messaging has to be refined to include specifics such as costing, timelines and so on. This will all be rolled out in due course," he wrote.

'Labour leader' Ejaz Butt

Ejaz Butt is also no stranger to Hamilton politics. Butt has been living in Canada since 1987 and is from Pakistan. 

When he came to Canada, he wanted to continue serving in the military, as he had done at home, but because he didn't have Canadian citizenship at the time, he pivoted to driving a taxi. He's been driving one since 1989. 

"I had to feed my family," he told CBC Hamilton in 2014 when he ran for Hamilton mayor for the first time when he was then 62.

While driving his taxi, Butt immersed himself in the community. He is the former president of the Muslim Association of Hamilton and the founding president of the Ontario Taxi Workers Union.

Butt still drives his taxi around the city, with slogans such as "fearless labour leader" printed onto it.

CBC Hamilton reached out to Butt for further details on his vision this election but did not get a response. In the 2014 campaign, he had proposed a four-year freeze on taxes, saying residents were overtaxed. 

Andrea Horwath, former councillor and Ontario NDP leader

Andrea Horwath, born and raised in the city, was Ward 2 city councillor from 1997 to 2004 before becoming Hamilton East MPP for the NDP. In 2007, she became Hamilton Centre MPP and not long after, the leader of the Ontario NDP.

The NDP was the official opposition twice under her leadership, but the party never won an election.

Horwath has not yet offered many details about specific policies or actions she would take as mayor, but emphasized her collaborative mindset when it comes to decision-making.

She told CBC Hamilton in an interview Monday that she doesn't want to expand the city's urban boundary. She added the city needs to be mindful of its "significant infrastructure deficit" when deciding whether to grow outwards or upwards. 

She also said residential zoning should focus on meeting people's needs rather than just increasing the number of units.

Horwath praised recent city council efforts to improve road safety but also said drivers need to become more aware of what their vehicles "can do to hurt other road users."

She said greater use and development of public transit, such as the light-rail transit (LRT) line, will help alleviate traffic on roads. She wouldn't say if she thinks the area rating tax system should be eliminated, only saying it should be a community discussion.

When it comes to climate action, Horwath said the city needs to makes all of its decisions through a climate lens. 

When asked about about fighting local crime, Horwath said it's not all a matter of giving police services or community agencies more money.

"It's about the people who need the services and how to prevent the services from being put on an organization that doesn't have that mandate," she said. 

Horwath wouldn't say what she thinks should happen to the John A. Macdonald statue, which was toppled last year, only saying it should be a community conversation.

Horwath didn't say if she'd want to bring back public health mandates like masking, only saying she'd listen to public health experts.

More specific policy ideas will come later in her campaign, she added.