Peterborough mayoral candidate Rob Hailman has suspended his campaign effective immediately, but he remains a candidate and his name will still appear on the ballot.
Hailman announced the decision on Sunday night (October 4), hours before online voting opens at 10 a.m. on Monday for Peterborough’s municipal election.
He said he will honour commitments he has already made, including participating in scheduled debates, but otherwise will conduct no further campaign activities.
“For the past month, I have sought to conduct this campaign while working two jobs,” Hailman said in a written statement. “In recent days, it has become evident that this has meant compromising my ability to campaign, my existing commitments to my employers and my community, and my health and well-being.”
Hailman remains one of seven certified candidates running to succeed incumbent mayor Jeff Leal, who is not seeking re-election. The other candidates are Michael Eamon, Brian Lumsden, Jacob Méthot, Neil Morton, incumbent Ashburnham Ward councillor Keith Riel, and Rebecca Schillemat.
Hailman entered the mayoral race just hours before nominations closed on August 21, the last of the seven candidates to file. He officially launched his campaign on September 14.
The director of operations for Trent Radio and business manager for Trent University student newspaper Arthur, Hailman is also a musician and broadcaster who has been a frequent delegate at Peterborough city council for more than a decade.
During an in-depth interview with kawarthaNOW in September, Hailman said his priorities included greater investment in public transit, public housing, and other municipal services, along with improving opportunities for residents to participate in city decision-making.
In announcing the suspension of his active campaign, Hailman said his experience had reinforced his concerns about barriers faced by people seeking elected office while also having to work.
“Throughout the campaign, many people have told me they feel represented by my candidacy, as someone who knows first hand the struggle of today’s high rents and housing instability, as someone who works multiple jobs to make ends meet, or as someone who relies on a public transit system that is too often inadequate,” he said.
Hailman said the ability of some people to take time away from employment, or to not have to work, during an election campaign gives them an advantage and influences both who can run for office and whose perspectives are represented.
While taking responsibility for his own decision to stop actively campaigning, he said “I now understand those structural factors more deeply from my first-hand experience.”
Hailman made it clear that, while he is no longer campaigning, he remains a candidate and his name will appear on the ballot.
“I encourage you to vote your conscience in this election, in whatever way you choose,” he added.
Hailman said he intends to continue the citizen advocacy that preceded his candidacy regardless of the election result.
“Long before seeking election, I dedicated myself to learning about the issues facing our community, to bearing witness to the inequities and injustices in the structures and decisions of City Hall, and to speaking truth to power,” he said.
“It is clear to me that this, not elected office, is the best means for me to bring about the change I believe Peterborough needs.”
That echoes comments Hailman made to kawarthaNOW before formally launching his campaign, when he said there was “a lot of power in being a citizen” and that he intended to continue his advocacy regardless of who became mayor.
“If my campaign has inspired or encouraged you, I ask that you join me in that work, as citizens and as neighbours, both today and long after election day,” Hailman said in his statement, which is published in full below.
Online voting for Peterborough’s municipal election begins at 10 a.m. Monday and continues until 8 p.m. on election day on Monday, October 26. Advance in-person voting will be held October 14 at Healthy Planet Arena, with in-person voting at ward-specific locations on October 26.
Rob Hailman’s full statement
I have made the difficult decision to suspend my campaign for mayor of Peterborough, effective immediately. I will attend the events I have committed to, such as debates this week, and then will conduct no further campaign activities.
For the past month, I have sought to conduct this campaign while working two jobs. In recent days, it has become evident that this has meant compromising my ability to campaign, my existing commitments to my employers and my community, and my health and well-being.
Throughout the campaign, many people have told me they feel represented by my candidacy, as someone who knows first hand the struggle of today’s high rents and housing instability, as someone who works multiple jobs to make ends meet, or as someone who relies on a public transit system that is too often inadequate.
I have long known, intellectually, that the privilege to be able to take time off work, or to not need to work at all, confers a huge advantage during an election, and this affects both the perspectives we hear on the campaign trail, and the people we see in the council chamber. While my decision to end my campaign is a personal choice which I am wholly responsible for, I now understand those structural factors more deeply from my first-hand experience.
At the start of my campaign, I said that I didn’t feel that the other candidates running for mayor shared my values. The intervening weeks have strengthened my certainty that this is the case.
I have attempted to express positions which offer an ambitious vision for better Peterborough than today’s status quo, but which are also based on a realistic view of the city’s finances and future outlook.
Throughout the campaign, I have heard promises, specifically around spending and taxation, which are not grounded in reality. At best, these promises will simply be broken. At worst, attempting to fulfill them could mean draining the city’s reserves, falling farther behind in maintaining our public infrastructure, and continuing to fail to address the city’s most pressing issues.
While I am no longer campaigning, I remain a candidate and my name will appear on your ballot. I encourage you to vote your conscience in this election, in whatever way you choose.
To my supporters, I am deeply sorry if I have disappointed you.
Long before seeking election, I dedicated myself to learning about the issues facing our community, to bearing witness to the inequities and injustices in the structures and decisions of City Hall, and to speaking truth to power. It is clear to me that this, not elected office, is the best means for me to bring about the change I believe Peterborough needs.
If my campaign has inspired or encouraged you, I ask that you join me in that work, as citizens and as neighbours, both today and long after election day.
With love and gratitude,
Rob
