THUNDER BAY - After much thought, Thunder Bay Mayor Bill Mauro says he will not be running for the Liberal Party in the upcoming provincial election as he will be seeking another term in municipal office.
“As it stands right now, it is my intention to run for mayor again in the fall,” Mauro said on Thursday.
“The provincial decision was extremely difficult. I thought about it for a significant period of time. I enjoyed my time tremendously the 15 years I was there and felt very fortunate to be in government for 15 years and to be able to move forward a lot of significant files for the city of Thunder Bay. So it was not easy for me to decide not to do it but at this point that is the decision that I have made.”
Mauro was first elected to Queen’s Park representing the Thunder Bay-Atikokan riding in 2003 and went on to win re-election three times before being narrowly defeated by NDP candidate Judith Monteith-Farrell in the 2018 election.
Throughout his time at Queen’s Park, Mauro served in several Parliamentary Assistant roles to various ministries, as well as being appointed the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, and Minister of Municipal Affairs.
“I respect and really appreciate the opportunity I had for 15 years to represent Thunder Bay and the work I did for the community,” Mauro said.
Mauro said the provincial order of government is probably where elected officials are most able to impact their community in a positive way.
He recalled a discussion he had with then MPP Lynn McLeod, who held the seat before he was elected, when he was considering whether to run federally or at the municipal level.
“She was very clear to me that all government work is important, but constitutionally, the files you are responsible for provincially really put you in a position to try and help your community and the province,” he said.
Mauro was elected Mayor of Thunder Bay in the 2018 municipal election, earning 33.91 per cent of the vote, just ahead of runner-up Frank Pulia, who won 32.06 per cent.
Mauro will be seeking re-election as Mayor in the 2022 municipal election to be held in October. The provincial election will be held on June 2, 2022.
