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Former councillor Dr. Ted Blackmore, the first "name" candidate to express an interest in running for the Ward 6 seat on City council this fall, is reconsidering and he likely won't run anywhere.
He says the entry of a couple of high-profile candidates in former councillor Ron Starr and former school trustee and MP Carolyn Parrish has nothing to do with his decision.
"I think much of this comes from disillusionment with respect to the nature of politics," says the Streetsville chiropractor. "I just know that such a commitment from me and my family can only occur if I am 100 per cent heart-and-soul into this and I can honestly say that I am not."
Blackmore's still politician enough to say things could change.
His non-starting campaign clears the decks for the one-on-one matchup of the heavyweights that people probably want to see.
Parrish plans to register for the job in the days following the federal election Monday. Technically, she is still an MP until then.
Blackmore won't switch to the other seat with no incumbent, Ward 10, because he promised Ward 9 public school trustee Sue McFadden that he wouldn't run there.
That saves us at least one finger we'll need to count all the candidates. Nominations have been open for just 18 days and there were already five as of yesterday: Tony Ciufo, Adnan Hashmi, McFadden, Graziano Roti and Scott Wilson. That doesn't count Jason Roti, who registered in Ward 10, then switched to Ward 11, where he'll face incumbent George Carlson.