Julia Hanna
Oakville restaurant owner and former chamber of commerce chair Julia Hanna has announced her intention to run for the mayor’s job in October’s municipal election.
Hanna, who challenged incumbent Rob Burton in 2018 and won 42 per cent of the vote, says she will be tackling the housing crisis, economic growth, smart development, transportation and community infrastructure.
"A thriving Oakville, with opportunity for all, is the community that I envision," said Hanna. "To secure this future, we need to build communities, not sprawl. This means strengthening and bridging our many distinct areas and neighbourhoods."
She is known locally for three decades of successful restaurant ownership, including Paradiso and Ristorante Julia in Downtown Oakville and, most recently, Ritorno in North Oakville.
She says passion for Oakville has convinced her to run again for the town’s top job.
Burton is widely expected to announce that he will seek re-election at an event scheduled for Friday morning. He has been the town's mayor since 2006 when he ousted long-time mayor Ann Mulvale in his second bid for the job.
John McLaughlin, who was Oakville’s third-place finisher in the 2018 mayoral election, says he has “no present intentions” to run again for public office.
Hanna wants to work with community leaders to address social challenges, including poverty among children, mental health and additional supports, food security and aging in place for seniors.
During the pandemic, she launched Ritorno Gives, a food security initiative that has provided more than 3,500 ready-to-eat meals to frontline workers, food-insecure families and community partners.
If elected, she promises she will conduct an independent audit "to ensure financial accountability, transparency and effective fiscal management," as well as implement an "open-by-default policy of access to information."
She also plans to launch a post-COVID recovery plan.
"After four decades as a small business owner, there is one constant and purposeful reminder that recent events have driven home with clarity: Not only will we recover, but we will also come out of it as a better and stronger community – otherwise, all will have been for naught," said the press release announcing her candidacy.
Candidates can begin registering for the Oct. 24 municipal election on Monday, May 2.
