Hamilton's snore of a mayoral race just got a lot more exciting.
Former mayor Larry Di Ianni announced Monday that he is running against Fred Eisenberger, the incumbent who knocked Mr. Di Ianni out of office four years ago.
The rematch comes at a crucial moment: The winner will lead Hamilton through preparations for the 2015 Pan Am Games, the catalyst for a controversial new stadium for the Canadian Football League's Tiger-Cats.
"We have found ourselves trapped in a very fractious, divisive, almost corrosive debate about where to site the stadium," Mr. Di Ianni said.
However, if the former Stoney Creek councillor gets back in the game Oct. 25, he will be too late to vote on whether the stadium is built downtown at the West Harbour site, Mayor Eisenberger's choice, or on the outskirts at the East Mountain site, the Ti-Cats' preference.
Hamilton council is expected to make that decision next month.
Mr. Di Ianni refused to say where he would put the stadium - he'll support either choice as long as the city keeps the games, the Ti-Cats and a handle on costs - but he criticized Mr. Eisenberger and council for fumbling the issue.
"For the last two years, we've frittered away the opportunity to build that consensus and get that money by fighting, by turning a good-news story into a negative, uncomfortable situation," he said.
Mr. Eisenberger had no serious opponents until Mr. Di Ianni joined the race.
Now the election could be a replay of 2006's fierce contest, which Mr. Di Ianni lost by just 452 votes. The last race was considered Mr. Di Ianni's to lose, even though he became the first public official to be convicted of violating the Municipal Elections Act three months before voting day.
Mr. Di Ianni pleaded guilty to six election violations related to accepting illegal donations to his 2003 mayoral campaign. A judge called the illegal contributions an innocent mistake. Mr. Di Ianni ran campaigns in 2006 and 2008, when he ran unsuccessfully for the federal Liberals.
"It wasn't a huge loss," he said of his 2006 defeat. "I think I believed my own press clippings. Everybody expected me to win and we didn't pull out the vote. We are not going to make that mistake this time."
Mr. Eisenberger, meanwhile, hasn't officially launched his campaign yet. "I'm looking forward ... to talking about all the things I have done and I am working on to improve life for people in Hamilton," he said in an e-mail.