Hamilton's new Mayor a CFL booster

CFL Talk
#1
[url=http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/2010/10/26/lefko_ticats_hamilton_mayor/]http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/cfl/20 ... ton_mayor/[/url]

The newly-elected mayor of Hamilton is a Tiger-Cats fan and plans to work with the team to resolve the goal-line stand it had with the outgoing mayor.

Bob Bratina has a close relationship to the Tiger-Cats, having worked a long time calling the team's games on radio, and still believes in the franchise as an important entity with the city. So going forward, when he officially takes office in December, one of his key objectives is to resolve the issue of where to put a stadium for the 2015 Pan-American Games because the complex will become the home to the Ticats afterward.

"The Canadian Football League has a friend now in the mayor's chair at Hamilton," Bratina said proudly in an interview with sportsnet.ca on Tuesday. "Everybody claims they are, but the mayor (previously) didn't seem very friendly with this issue with the Tiger-Cats when it came up.

"You had the mayor sniping at the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' owner Bob Young and then (team president) Scott Mitchell sniping back. We broke a bond of roughly 140 years because the mayor wasn't flexible. But really, who's the mayor? Who am I to tell the Tiger-Cats anything? We should have worked together to come up with a common site and make a joint announcement."

RELATED
Ticats clean up CFL awardsJoseph reaches deal with EskimosLefko's Week 17 power rankingsBratina had been broadcasting for 45 years, but didn't want to fade off into the sunset, preferring to tackle the mayoralty race after working as a councilor for six years.

Bratina and his wife thought he had the background to run for the mayor's job when only two people stepped forward with their candidacy, one the city's current mayor, the other one if its former ones. Two days before the September 10 deadline, Bratina threw his helmet, so to speak, in the race. He was going to run in 2006, but felt he didn't have the necessary background at the time in bureaucracy and civics.

"People were asking me what will you do if you lose?" he said. "One of the things I said was when you're in the sixth round of a 12-round bout you're not really thinking what are you going to do if you lose. I felt so confident because I had such a good response when I announced my candidacy. I had other things I could do if politically things didn't work out. I hate to say it now, but I was fairly confident I had good support.

"I love the city and always cared to play a role in its progress," he said. "I knew I was successful on the ward level and that the city needed a real salesman to get it out of its doldrums. It bothered me when one of the NHL governors said Hamilton was a second-rate city. I wanted to send a letter to the NHL saying let's have a meeting about one of your governors saying stupid things about Hamilton. You going to tell me Columbus, Ohio or Milwaukee are (better) as far as major-league cities are concerned? That bothered me the whole NHL piece. You can't have people taking potshots at you and not do something about it.

"I just felt Hamilton had lost its place in the rank of great Canadian cities in the past few years. It didn't seem to be turning around. We were a city to reckon with in our heyday when steel was great and Hamilton was in the Grey Cup every year. That's how I grew up and I don't like to see my city ridiculed."

Consider Bratina's victory a touchdown for the Ticats. And if the team makes it to the Grey Cup this year or in the four years of his term, you can bet Bratina will be enjoying it. He just won't be talking about it on the radio, at least as a broadcaster.

#2

Great news for Hamilton. All cities should be so lucky to have a cfl booster. One would think the anti cats ways of the old Mayor probably aided people deciding to vote him out. Hopefully Quebec city gets a pro CFL mayor some day

#3

First off, the old mayor wasn't "anti-cats", secondly Bratina is crazier than a wet bag full of monkeys, thirdly, his main support came from the suburbs due to his idiotic proposition of deamalgimation. It's more likely this will go down in flames with his inability to get along with anyone on council.

#4

I disagree to some extent Evil. Now is the time for a Mayor who will work with Bob Young and not play games. Yes, he doesn't get along with all of council but Fred didn't have the respect of council. BB will tell whomever to STFU and that's what this council needs in Hamilton, at least the incumbents who are basically loose canons, some of them. Fred was calling Katz under their noses and not telling anyone about it. Bratina will not do that IMHO, he will say this is what has happened, I spoke with whomever, here is the deal and be more on the up and up than Fred IMHO. Yes, Bratina has changed course on the stadium issue a number of times but now he's the man in charge and I'm damn well looking forward to it, someone who I don't think is afraid of telling some bozos on council what the deal is. Fred, again IMHO, was working behind council's back trying for his own side deal with Katz. That behaviour will not happen with Bratina I'm really hoping.

Getting along sometimes mean a strong up front type individual who might not make friends but will have the respect of council. Bratina, compared with Eisenberger, is that sort of individual I think.

#5

Couldn't be much worse than that last twit.

#6

Mr. Ford (Toronto’s new mayor) coaches/sponsors a team as well…

#7

It was funny, after the election was over and Bratina won they interviewed him.And if you’ll remember, Eisenberger was standing up for what EVERYONE in Hamilton wanted (the WH site) and fighting off those bully Ticats :wink: :wink: .Then he finally realized in a post election interview that his idea and shoving BY and the Cats around wasn’t such a smart idea.Bratina just basically said i’m running, did nothing else and smoked the competition.What’s that tell ya.

#8

Hamilton lost a good Mayor over the stadium .
Bratina is a good guy that is well known media personality.Britina will do what council tells him, someone anyone He,s not an experienced civil servant.
Ticats are wrong about not going along with the City.
Hamilton will lose the team because the city can't afford it, because Private investors have not come forward and put their money on the table.
TiCats will change their colors to Pink and Purple,with frills. They will be called the Ancaster Antibodys :cowboy: :wink:

#9

Wrong. Bratina won in 13 of Hamilton's 15 wards. One of the two he lost in was a suburban ward.

#10

Bob Young was the only person being asked to put up his own money for the building of the stadium, yet Burgermeister Eisenberger seemed to believe he was the only person who shouldn't have a say in its location. If I were being asked to pour millions of dollars into a city-owned facility, you'd better believe I would want to have some input into where it's located.

#11

There is so much wrong with this statement that I don't even know where to begin.

First, Eisenberger was NOT a good mayor. He was a divider, not a unifier. He pitted citizen against citizen, mountain against downtown. I didn't care who won as long as it wasn't that idiot.

Secondly, Bratina has been on council now for six years. He's not some first-year neophyte. He might not be a life time politician, but that doesn't mean he's inexperienced. And just in case you think I'm defending him because I voted for him, I didn't vote for Bob Bratina on Monday.

Thirdly, the Tiger-Cats were not wrong about telling the city and the mayor to shove it. They were being forced into a location that they would lose money at. No one would enter into that agreement willingly while at the same time be asked to put money towards it as well. Would you do that? Very easy to tell other people what to do with their money.

Finally, if you think the Cats are going anywhere, you are sorely mistaken. I won't go any further than saying the Cats aren't moving anywhere except to a new stadium somewhere in Hamilton.

#12

Ticats told the city they would go where ever the city decided.
No private money on the table killed the East Mountain proposed site.
The city offered the team other revenue streams.
It was all about getting rid of Fred

#13

blogskee wee wee wrote-There is so much wrong with this statement that I don't even know where to begin.

First, Eisenberger was NOT a good mayor. He was a divider, not a unifier. He pitted citizen against citizen, mountain against downtown. I didn't care who won as long as it wasn't that idiot.

Secondly, Bratina has been on council now for six years. He's not some first-year neophyte. He might not be a life time politician, but that doesn't mean he's inexperienced. And just in case you think I'm defending him because I voted for him, I didn't vote for Bob Bratina on Monday.

Thirdly, the Tiger-Cats were not wrong about telling the city and the mayor to shove it. They were being forced into a location that they would lose money at. No one would enter into that agreement willingly while at the same time be asked to put money towards it as well. Would you do that? Very easy to tell other people what to do with their money.

Finally, if you think the Cats are going anywhere, you are sorely mistaken. I won't go any further than saying the Cats aren't moving anywhere except to a new stadium somewhere in Hamilton.

http://www.blogskeeweewee.com/

Bririna wone on a mandate for de- amalamasation!! thats not devisive??
How can they make money at any location in a 25,000 seat venue?? they cant make money now selling 24,000 average.
IMHO the executive payroll must be double the players!!

#14

It might be, but it is also pointless. Bratina has absolutely no say on deamalgamation. The fact that this was even an issue shows exactly how uneducated the electorate is. Bratina, much like Rob Ford in Toronto with his "reduce the amount of councilors by half" plan, will find out that his role in matters such as these is nonexistent. The provincial government decides these issues, not the mayor and city council.

Raising ticket prices for one. My guess is prices will rise with a new stadium. And since neither you nor I know what the Cats or the city have planned, we can't know whether they'll make money at a new 25,000-seat stadium. But if the owner of the team says he's happy with the current location (and now other potential new locations with a new mayor), then I doubt he's going to up and move any time soon.

#15

Lemon lost this game for the Argos, I'm sad to say. I hope he has learned something.

#16

First year in a faster league, he'll be an excellent qb I think.

#17

Wrong thread, I presume?