CORNWALL, Ontario – After decades of covering city hall in one capacity or another a longtime Cornwall journalist and political pundit is putting his money where his mouth is.
Claude McIntosh said in an interview he is filing paperwork this week to run as a candidate for city councillor.
“I always thought about it, especially now that I am retired,” McIntosh said, adding if he is elected he hopes to be able to build a consensus around the council table to move the city towards more fiscal accountability. “The city’s deficit is concerning me. You just have to look at (the financing) for things like the new sewage treatment plant and the Benson Centre.
“I can remember a time not that long ago when they said they were going to be debt-free.”
There were whispers that McIntosh was considering a political run, but he said his mind wasn’t made up until a few days ago.
McIntosh has been a journalist for more than 40 years. After working for a short time in Windsor he has spent the bulk of his career in his hometown, with the lion’s share of his work taking place at the Standard-Freeholder.
Last year, following his retirement, he became a columnist at the Seaway News.
This newspaper has made a decision to suspend his weekly column “Mac’s Musings” until the election campaign is complete. His last column will appear this week.
In the meantime McIntosh will have to convince voters that after years of covering local politics, and offering his opinions on municipal issues, he is now looking to become a decision-maker.
McIntosh said the key will be to create relationships around the table that result in movement on issues.
“I’m not running against nine incumbents. There’s an opening and I plan to take it,” he said. “I believe I know what works, and what doesn’t work. You have to have a consensus. You can’t be a lone wolf.”
