[thistleclub]

The games mayoral rivals play
(Hamilton Spectator, Andrew Dreschel, Oct 25 2013 2013)

The 2014 mayoral election is a year away, but the early warning systems are already clanging at city hall.

That's no surprise, what with the number of early bird candidates stacking up to take on Mayor Bob Bratina, who's made it clear he intends to seek another term.

So far, Councillor Brian McHattie and former mayor Fred Eisenberger say they're definitely going after the top job, while Councillor Lloyd Ferguson has signalled he may be joining the field when the time is right.

That makes it all but impossible not to filter their comments and comportment through the prism of the coming race.

Consider this week's board of health meeting dealing with Ferguson's high-profile push to equip local restaurants and municipal buildings with epinephrine auto-injectors to resist life-threatening allergic reactions.

A serious issue seriously dealt with, to be sure.

But to the amusement of councillors and reporters, Bratina seemed to be demonstrating a pronounced allergic reaction to the positive media attention his potential rival was garnering for his efforts.

It began when Councillor Terry Whitehead asked the clerk to screen a CTV News clip highlighting the EpiPen issue and Ferguson's "groundbreaking motion, likely a world first."

Bratina, who chairs the board, wanted to know how the CTV piece got on the agenda, suggesting the staff report should be heard first.

Too late. The laudatory clip was already rolling on the overhead screen.

"Is this much longer?" Bratina groused as the broadcast laurels accumulated on Ferguson's brow.

Later, after the video and a presentation were over, Bratina grilled the clerk.

Turns out the CTV link was provided by Ferguson's office for "context" to the debate.

Bratina left the room, missing the debate, Ferguson's demo of how the simple devices work, and the unanimous vote in favour of a pilot project.

His prickly reaction wasn't lost on Sam Merulla, who somewhat mischievously suggested running the video at Wednesday's council meeting.

At that council meeting, Merulla couldn't resist poking Bratina's apparent tender spot. He applauded Ferguson's leadership and labelled the CTV item an "exciting" broadcast, which gave Hamilton national coverage.

"It's a rarity when we have somebody bring forward an initiative that is leading internationally," he said, adding he wished he'd thought of it.

You don't have to dig deep for that subtext: Bratina has been notoriously slack at championing initiatives as mayor.

McHattie echoed the praise for Ferguson.

"This demonstrates strong leadership," he said, noting the broadcast shows Hamilton in a positive light.

Why so nice, considering Ferguson might be a mayoral rival? Well, McHattie does tend to fancy the high road. On the other hand, he may have been indulging in a little payback.

During another part of the board of health meeting, Bratina implicitly took McHattie to task for referring to air pollution in Hamilton as a "health crisis," despite incremental improvements.

Whitehead joined the Ferguson parade, thanking him for making Hamilton look "cutting edge" internationally.

"Clearly, on some issues you need leadership and I think there was some leadership shown on this particular file."

Did somebody say 'leadership?'

Before council finally approved the pilot program, Ferguson thanked his colleagues for all their support, supplementing their gold stars with a collective blue ribbon.

Throughout the love-in, Bratina sat silently in his chair, staring stonily into the distance — like someone contemplating the unforgiving year ahead.