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Alberta Politics

Mike Nickel running for mayor for a third time

A screenshot from MikeNickel.ca on Jan. 19, 2021 announcing his plans to run for Mayor of Edmonton.
A screenshot from MikeNickel.ca on Jan. 19, 2021 announcing his plans to run for Mayor of Edmonton.

Mike Nickel is running for Mayor of Edmonton, according to a statement on his website.

Frequently the lone voice of right-wing discontent on City Council, it has been rumoured for months that Nickel has been preparing a run.

But until now Nickel has yet to officially announce his candidacy. It is unclear whether this was intended as an official announcement or if it is a website publishing mistake.

This would mark Nickel’s third time running for mayor after unsuccessful bids in 1998 and 2001. He placed second with 16 per cent of vote in 1998 and third with 19 per cent in 2001. He later served on city council from 2004 until he was defeated in 2007 by a little known rookie candidate by the name of Don Iveson. Nickel returned to council in 2013 and was re-elected in 2017.

Nickel made an unsuccessful bid for the United Conservative Party nomination in Edmonton-South ahead of the 2019 provincial election, claiming then that he had accomplished all he could in municipal politics.

4 replies on “Mike Nickel running for mayor for a third time”

Perhaps now that his political nemisis Mayor Iveson is leaving, this might be the best opportunity for Mr. Nickel to run for mayor again.

I suppose you have to admire his persistence, but I am not sure if Edmontonians have really warmed to him much since his last run for mayor. Perhaps name recognition, past experience and having some organization in place will be sufficient this time. These can be advantages. However, I feel being even loosely tied to the UCP is not beneficial at all at this time. There may be an opportunity for someone else to step forward and successfully run for mayor

Dave: Nobody wants Mike Nickel as Edmonton’s mayor. He was very contentious for years. When Bill Smith was tying himself in with the Alberta PCs, Edmonton voters halted that. The UCP are bad news for Alberta. Even the slightest allegiance with the UCP will ensure Mike Nickel’s defeat.

I agree. Although Mr. Nickel and I are not on the same wing politically, I decided to vote for him in the last municipal election, based on the work I saw him doing during my activities with our community league, and also as a result of the satisfaction others expressed in that vein. Now that Mr. Nickel has ‘outed’ himself as a UCP supporter, however, I have no interest in supporting him again.

He also now has, officially, the lowest attendance record in Edmonton Council history, by far. Saying that he works for the citizens of Edmonton doesn’t have any meaning anymore. That is just sad to see!

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