Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope says his 12 years as mayor speaks for its self, as he seeks another term in the upcoming municipal election.
Hope filed his nomination papers to run for mayor on Tuesday. He says since taking office, Chatham-Kent has accomplished a number of goals.
"When I took office we [were] $160-million in debt, now we're down to $86.4-million," he says. "We were faced with a high unemployment rate of 15% and now we're down to just above the provincial average -- so about 6%."
In terms of what needs to be done, Hope says the municipality needs to continue on "the right track" of attracting investments and growing the entertainment district.
"There's a lot of work that needs to be done and I believe that ball needs to be carried with strong leadership, which is what I've demonstrated over 12 years.
"The change that I'm talking about is keeping the chorus of looking at progressively moving the community forward as we've been doing," says Hope. "We've gone through very tough situations... we're now on the right track, we're moving in the right direction, and we're getting recognized internationally as the place to do business."
So far there are two other candidates running for mayor, including Councillor Darrin Canniff and local advocate Alysson Storey.
Besides Hope's experience as mayor, he says he has created relationships that will benefit the municipality.
"I have a great relationship with the provincial and federal governments, which is going to be needed as we move forward," says Hope.
The deadline to file nomination papers is July 27.
