After eight years as councillor for Ward 2, Marianne Meed Ward announced she’ll be vying for the top seat on council come May 1 when she enters the Burlington mayoral race.

On a crisp Wednesday (April 11) morning, at the cul-de-sac of Clearview Avenue in Aldershot, the former journalist of about 20 years addressed a crowd of around 30 residents from across the city telling them of her plans and why she chose that spot.

“When my husband and I first moved to Burlington with our three kids, we settled in this community, the Aldershot/Tyandaga community … I have deep roots in this community and when we moved to downtown Burlington, a piece of our hearts still stayed here,” she said, noting Clearview is one of many established neighbourhoods in the city that need to be protected going forward.

“We are at a crossroads in the City of Burlington. We have a choice of what kind of a city we want to be now, what kind of a city we want for the future and what kind of leadership we need to get us there.”

Meed Ward said the city currently has a leadership vacuum being filled by private interests that she’d rather fill with the voices of residents.

“I will make sure your priorities are reflected in our budgets, as I have on every budget that has come forward already. I will make sure you feel this is your city again and you can count on that promise because it’s what we’ve been doing together for eight years,” she stated.

Having been re-elected in Ward 2 in 2014, Meed Ward indicated she had a strong base there, but when asked what she thought of the support for her across the city, she said to simply look around.

“We have people from every part of the city here today, our rural, our urban and every corner of Burlington represented right here and this is just a snapshot,” she told the Burlington Post, calling her decision to run for mayor not an easy one.

“This took me many months of trying to decide whether this is right for the community — that’s my No. 1 priority. And the trickle of voices that were coming in from across the city asking me to run has turned into a roar in the last few weeks.”

Meed Ward said she was most looking forward to talking to the people of Burlington when she starts up her campaign, calling them the heart of the city with a wisdom that has to be tapped to face the challenges ahead.