Bratina to run for Mayor?

Bob Bratina is on the verge of giving Mayor Fred Eisenberger and his rival Larry Di Ianni the shivering fits.

The outspoken downtown councillor is seriously weighing entering the mayor's race.

"I really have to, I think, seriously consider it because of the state of the city right now," Bratina said.

"Obviously, I have to make that decision in the next few days."

The deadline for candidate registration is Sept. 10.

Bratina says he's receiving "reasonably" significant community support to take the plunge.

If he does, he'll be facing 10 other contenders for the job, including presumed front-runners Eisenberger and former mayor Di Ianni.

Bratina says the prospect of challenging both of them in public debates is a strong motivator.

"It would be worth running, if I lost or not, to confront Fred and Larry and the electorate with the real issues that have to be resolved, and one is a change of the power structure at city hall because that's the root of our problems."

Bratina believes something is drastically amiss when a councillor like Chad Collins can pull Confederation Park off the list of potential stadium sites "on a whim" and almost push through a motion to have local taxpayers pay the cost of all residential flood damages not covered by insurance.

"That's part of what's wrong with the city," said Bratina, who argues that fiscal negligence, revenue shortfalls and mounting budget pressures must be central issues in the mayoralty race.

Bratina also wants to take Eisenberger to task for what he sees as a lack of transparency and openness during the stadium debate.

He's disappointed Eisenberger wasn't upfront about his Aug. 6 conversation with the premier's office regarding the province's willingness to talk about the city's stadium needs.