Eisenberger supported by former mayor

He stopped just short of calling it an endorsement, but former Hamilton mayor Bob Morrow says he's supporting Fred Eisenberger for mayor this election.

Morrow, a current interim Ward 3 councillor and former longtime mayor, said he'll be voting for Eisenberger in the Oct. 27 municipal election. He announced his support at a barbecue on Sunday.

"I'm voting for Fred," he said. "I'm backing Fred."

"I sort of had steered clear of that particular word (endorsement), but I am backing Fred."

So what's the distinction? Morrow says it's a narrow one, but to him, the word "endorsement" implies that he's telling people who to vote for. 

"It's not a word that I like, but that’s personal preference," he said. "I am saying right up front that I am voting for Fred, I support Fred and that can be taken however you want."

For its part, the Eisenberger campaign embraced the word in a media release on Sunday. It cited Morrow as one of two new supporters giving "formal campaign endorsements." It also took to Twitter to trumpet Morrow's support.

Another former mayor, Larry Di Ianni, also cheered the decision in his own tweet. He endorsed Eisenberger in April.

• READ MORE: Larry Di Ianni endorses Fred Eisenberger in Hamilton mayoral race

Di Ianni, who served as Hamilton’s mayor from 2003 to 2006, lost to Eisenberger in the 2006 mayoral election.

Morrow said Monday that he likes Eisenberger's "general philosophical approach that is close to my own. It's a broad and dynamic centrist approach."

Eisenberger seems to have learned from his former time as mayor from 2006 to 2010, Morrow said, and "there are a lot of other areas that will come along that he will handle well."

Of the other candidates, Morrow said he likes McHattie too.

"I particularly like Brian McHattie and the work he’s done and his approach. He’s a very decent man, as is Fred."

McHattie said on Monday that Morrow has supported him privately, and that he thinks Eisenberger's campaign conveyed an unintended message.

"I know he thinks Fred’s a good fellow and I know he thinks I’m a good fellow," he said. "I think Bob Morrow’s intention was to support both of us and not get into the capital E endorsement."

But "what Larry in particular did was he announced Bob had endorsed Fred, which is not true."

The word "endorsement" carries extra weight for politicians, McHattie said. He hasn't asked any current councillors for endorsements because it puts them in "a difficult position," particularly if someone they didn't endorse wins.

McHattie, then a Ward 1 councillor, formally endorsed Eisenberger in 2010. He preferred Eisenberger to the other two options, which were Di Ianni and Bob Bratina, he said. Bratina won.

"My relationship with Mr. Bratina was not good to begin with, so it’s hard to gauge whether that made a difference," he said of the endorsement.

Eisenberger defended his use of the word "endorsement" on Twitter on Monday.

"I will vote for Fred' is Bob's way of endorsing," he tweeted. "He will confirm that."

Morrow said he's "fine" with the Eisenberger campaign's messaging on the issue.

"I’m voting for Fred. I support Fred. If Fred’s people call it an endorsement, that’s fine too. That’s how they want to term it."

Bratina beat out both Eisenberger and Di Ianni in the 2010 vote, with Di Ianni edging out Eisenberger by fewer than 1,500 votes to secure second place.

Morrow served as pre-amalgamation Hamilton mayor from 1982 to 2000.