Peter Kelly 'flattered' by website urging former mayor to run again
Kelly working in Alberta and says he won't think about 2016 election until contract up
Former Halifax mayor Peter Kelly says he is "surprised and flattered" by an anonymous campaign encouraging him to run for mayor in 2016, but says he has no idea who is behind it.
The website Draft Kelly, along with a Facebook and Twitter account, was launched on Monday by an unnamed group voicing its support for Kelly. CBC has not been able to contact the site's administrator.
Kelly says he was humbled by the encouragement. However, he says he won't be thinking about elections anytime soon.
His contract as chief administrator of a small county outside of Edmonton was extended for another year this past week. He is committed to finishing his term, which ends February 29, 2016.
"What happens after that is yet to be determined," said Kelly from his office in Westlock, Atla.
The website also notes approvingly which councillors voted against a controversial decision to give Irving Shipbuilding a special 25-year property tax deal earlier in May.
One of those is Bedford Coun. Matt Whitman, but he says that doesn't mean he's in favour of bringing back the former mayor.
"Mayor (Mike) Savage and I disagreed on that one particular matter but I don't think having Peter Kelly coming back to Halifax is the answer to our biggest issues, which are about managing growth," Whitman says.
Kelly was first elected mayor of Halifax in 2000. He won two subsequent elections, but decided not to reoffer in 2012, citing personal reasons.
He was embroiled in a number of controversies near the end of his time as mayor, including the Halifax Common concert scandal and criticism over how he handled his role as executor of the estate of a Bedford woman.
In an interview last year, Kelly called these controversies learning experiences.