Patrick Brown to seek re-election as Brampton mayor

Brampton, Ont., Mayor Patrick Brown says he will be seeking re-election in October’s municipal election

Brown filed his papers in Brampton alongside his wife Genevieve Gualtieri-Brown and their two children on Monday.

‘I love serving the city of Brampton. This is truly an incredible place to live. It really is a mosaic of the world and you get to meet people from every culture, every background and it has been the greatest privilege to serve the city over the last four years,” he said. “And I’m looking forward to the next four years.”

Brown said his team has “done a lot of great work together at city hall,” touting improvements to the city’s transit infrastructure, and the building of a new hospital.

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Brown said he is “looking forward” to four more years and said he is “excited” for the “challenges ahead.”

On Sunday, Brown’s team said the politician would be making an announcement regarding “his future plans in public service.”

The news comes after the Conservative Party of Canada disqualified him as a candidate for its leadership earlier this month.

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In a previous statement, Ian Brodie, chair of the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC), said Brown was disqualified after the chief returning officer investigated allegations against the Brown campaign of violating the financial provisions of the Canada Elections Act.

Brown has denied the allegations and is appealing the party’s decision.

Asked by reporters on Monday if running for re-election as mayor is his “second choice,” Brown said “it has always been about serving Brampton.”

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“I could have served Brampton at a national level, I obviously feel that we haven’t got our fair share. What I could have done for Brampton on a national level is obviously much more significant than what you can do on a local level but I’m still going to speak up,” he said.

Brown said if the city is “shortchanged” on issues like transit or on infrastructure he will be “loud and I will be heard.”

Brown said he is also encouraging those who supported his bid to become Conservative Leader to look at the remaining candidates “and support someone that shares the same values.”

“I think there are candidates in that race that share those inclusive values, and it will be up to the members to decide who that is,” he said.

Brown said he believes Scott Aitchison and Jean Charest “certainly share inclusive values.”

“But right now, I’m not going to be involved in the leadership campaign anymore,” he said. “My focus is going to be creating a great team here in Brampton to make sure that the city is well served over the next four years.”

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Brown has served the city of Brampton’s mayor since 2018.

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However, he has been facing trouble recently, after a majority of city councillors recently voted for a series of forensic investigations, including into how contracts were given to firms involved in an effort to bring a full university to the city.

In a report issued in May, the city’s interim chief administrative officer found that $629,000 went to four vendors involved with the project, but staff were unable to find the final product for five of the “deliverables” identified in the expenses.

A group of five councillors pushing the investigations has said the bulk of the money went to one firm, which employed a close associate of Brown.

Brown has said those councillors form a block that is critical of him, and the two factions have been at odds over an ongoing controversy at city hall.

Asked Monday whether he would allow the investigations to go ahead if re-elected, Brown would not give a clear answer.

Brown had previously said he would consider running for mayor of Brampton again in this October’s municipal elections if it seemed like he couldn’t win the federal Conservative leadership.

The deadline for registering as a candidate is Aug. 19.

-With files from the Canadian Press

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