While he decided against running for mayor, former Ontario cabinet minister Rick Bartolucci will be involved in this October's municipal election.
Bartolucci, who was a councillor in the former Region of Sudbury and is also a former Liberal MPP in Sudbury, will be helping Mayor Brian Bigger's re-election campaign.
While he's not running it, Bartolucci has confirmed he'll be helping the campaign. It's a significant boost in political experience for Bigger, who had not run for office before 2014.
Prior to that campaign, he had served as the city's first auditor general. In contrast, Bartolucci was part of Liberal governments in Ontario since 2003, serving as Northern Development and Mines minister, as well as Community Safety and Correctional Services. He retired from provincial politics in February 2013.
Bigger, who won the mayoralty with 46.32 per cent of the vote, is facing 10 challengers this time around, including Dan Melanson, who finished second in 2014 with 19.25 per cent of the vote. Other returning candidates for mayor include Jeff Huska, who won 4.36 per cent last time around, and David Popescu, who won a mere 0.11 per cent of the vote four years ago.
New challengers include: former NHLer Troy Crowder, a recent Tory candidate in the provincial election; Bill Crumplin, who ran for the Greens last time provincially; Capreol's Cody Cacciotti, whose campaign is being managed Jeremy Dunton, a former assistant to Glenn Thibeault; Patricia Mills, of NEOKids and former publisher of Northern Ontario Business; and newcomers Rodney Newton, Ron Leclair and Bill Sanders, who's an employee of Laurentian University and is active in the arts community.
While Bartolucci decided against attempting a comeback, two former city councillors who lost in 2014 are running again: Terry Kett is hoping to win back the seat in Ward 11, where Lynne Reynolds is not seeking reelection; and Andre Rivest is among the candidates hoping to unseat Rene Lapierre in Ward 6.
The election will take place Oct. 22.
@darrenmacd
