Keanin Loomis launches second bid for Hamilton mayor

A former Hamilton mayoral candidate says he’s making another run at the main chair at city hall.

Keenan Loomis announced Wednesday his bid in the upcoming municipal election this year, after narrowly losing out to current Mayor Andrea Horwath in 2022.

Nearly 1,700 votes was what separated Loomis and Horwath back in that election.

Now, the CEO of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction says he was running against name recognition the last time around — this time, he believes things have changed.

“Our mayor has a record to run on now, that is one I would not want to run on and there’s a lot of buyers remorse out there in Hamilton,” said Loomis.

After coming close to winning the mayor’s chair in 2022, Loomis believes there will be a different race for the big seat this year.

The CEO of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction announced outside the Westdale Theatre Wednesday, that he is running again in this October’s municipal election, setting the stage for another campaign against current Mayor Horwath.

Loomis said he doesn’t plan on campaigning differently this time around, believing he ran a positive platform for voters four years ago.

“It was about overcoming name recognition and we nearly did that,” said Loomis. “I think that all the analysis shows that if we had one more week, we would have won the election.”

Back in 2022, after winning the election Horwath said, “Hamiltonians deserve to have a city where they can know they can trust what is happening at their City Hall.”

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Horwath’s victory in 2022 was razor thin against Loomis, narrowly edging out the former leader of the city’s Chamber of Commerce by less than two percentage points.

“He (Loomis) really, I think mopped up most of the voters that were on the right side, or the more conservative side of the spectrum,” said Peter Graefe, a political scientist at McMaster University. “He might have more competition this time out.”

Graefe said until Hamiltonians know the full slate of candidates, it’s hard to say who will be the frontrunner.

Back in July, Horwath announced that she will seek re-election in the fall.

Graefe believes Horwath will need to convince voters why she’ll need a second term, while City Hall continues to grapple with social and economic challenges.

“The way it’s looked by taxpayers, is that they’re paying more for less good services,” said Graefe. “So, a candidate who makes the case that they’re going to shake up City Hall, will likely lean in the direction of the voters at this moment.”

Loomis revealed Wednesday his campaign will include change at City Hall.

“We need to focus on the culture of the city,” said Loomis. “Have the right people in place, before we’re able to fight and take on any of the challenges that we’re dealing with.”

CHCH News reached out to Horwath’s office Wednesday for a response to Loomis’ mayoral bid, and reflection about her first term at city hall, but has yet to hear back.

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