Savage says he’s running for mayor
Posted Feb 6, 2012 05:24:29 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The man favored to take on Peter Kelly in the race for mayor has is officially throwing his hat in the ring.
“I’m announcing that I’m in the race,” former Liberal MP Mike Savage told News95.7’s Maritime Morning with Jordy Morgan ahead of a scheduled announcement. “I’m here to listen, I’m here to learn, I’m here to help to move HRM forward.”
Savage declined interviews last week, saying that he will make his intentions clear in an announcement scheduled for 12:15 today at Alderney Landing.
Don Mills with Corporate Research Associates is confident Savage will confirm he’s entering the race – and recent CRA polls suggest he’ll be an immediate front runner.
“He has several attributes that, I think, favour him,” said Mills. “The first thing he has is name recognition, he’s very well known. He has political experience, obviously, at the federal level which is seen as useful.”
A CRA poll released earlier this winter showed Savage had 41 per cent support among decided voters, compared to 37 per cent for the incumbent, Mayor Peter Kelly.
“He’s a very competitive alternative to Mayor Kelly,” said Mills. “Even with a more crowded field, we found that he is the top preference.”
Savage isn’t the only politician whose name had come up as a possible mayoral candidate. NDP MLA Howard Epstein was also thinking about it – but he announced on Friday that he will not run, saying he wants to keep his seat in the provincial legislature.
Epstein says he’s “prepared to be convinced” that Savage is the best choice for mayor, but says the former MP still has a lot of work ahead of him.
“I don’t think he’s been involved in municipal issues,” said Epstein. “You can’t qualify yourself to be the mayor by hanging around watching your dad do the job.”
The only candidates who have officially entered the mayoral race so far are taxi driver David Boyd; former Halifax Regional Police officer Tom Martin; businessman Fred Connors; and university student Matthew Worona.
Kelly has said he intends to seek re-election, but has not officially declared his candidacy.
