And there it is.
Susan Stevenson is running. We had wondered, we had speculated, we had repeatedly dismissed the idea - how would she raise the money? - and we had continued to wonder. Now we need wonder no more, because the battling Ward 4 councillor officially filed to run for Mayor of London on Monday.
Let’s talk about it.
This article - the housekeeping
First, hello everyone. Well, slap my thigh because this has been a day. (Writing this late on Monday, FYI.) This is Mike, with a leadership team update to maintain awareness of important events in our local government. Thanks for paying attention to the City of London and for reading London Ontario Online News, the local news service that’s so London Ontario that it wants to know what high school you went to1.
And this is London Ontario, where SOMEBODY2 said this election campaign was dull, and I totally disagreed. Smug now.
This article:
City Hall races update
Stevenson is running, so let’s look at that right away
More tales from the various runners
Updates have been made to the MEGAPOST - see details below and in the post itself
Other municipal news, including a Full Council meeting today
Let’s go.
The reporting
I believe the laurels on this one go to Daryl Newcombe of CTV London, who broke the story. You can find his report here. Also quick with the breaking news are Jack Moulton of the London Free Press (story here) and Andrew Lupton of CBC (enclickenate this).
And, as usual, Daryl brings the good, good stuff. Here’s a quote that will echo down the halls of 300 Dufferin like the wails of Marley’s ghost:
“We’ve got taxes that have gone up close to 25 per cent this term, and people are saying, ‘Where did the money go? Where are the services?’ We haven’t been, in my opinion, transparent and accountable to the people,” she said.
Bingo. That’s Stevenson: transparency, accountability, the money, the need for answers and, above all, the inescapable disquiet among ordinary Londoners who just don’t know what happens to the billions they give to City Hall, but they’re pretty sure something funny’s going on somewhere.
Whether they’re right or not, they’re voting. And the woman they just call “Susan” wants to have a word.
And the context
A great deal will be said about this story in the coming days and months, and it’s already clear that today (Monday) was a turning point in the story of 2026. With an established councillor’s hat in the ring, the race is on3. Now we have a better view of how the year will go.
I’ve been giving this some thought for some time, noting Stevenson’s interest in city-wide issues and her willingness to be seen as an outsider at City Hall. This has been the plan for a while, it seems (with a majority of less than 300 she had to do something), and a lot of folks underestimated her.
I bet they keep doing that.
Here are some predictions for the Stevenson campaign:
Watch her receive large numbers of small donations from grassroots support as she takes a frontline approach to this campaign. If she wins, Stevenson will do it in driveways. This is old-fashioned politics, social media notwithstanding.
This opens up Ward 4, where Tom Cull looks a strong candidate - or is it finally time for Stephen Orser to return to council after three failed attempts?
Many people just decided they quite like Josh Morgan, actually, and prefer him to the alternative. Expect strong unity behind the incumbent mayor and less bickering, at least in public.
Morgan, a socially progressive mayor above all else, will start taking stronger positions now, showing he’s a safe pair of hands compared to Stevenson. He’ll do that credibly, too. But will her base listen?
And, from now, anyone else entering the London mayor race had better have something damned good, because this one’s looking more straightforward than it did before and it’s going to be tough to stand out.
Wait - just how much does it cost to run?
Lots, and that’s why people have been doing the chin-rub4 when they hear about Stevenson running. How will she do it? That’s almost as interesting as the actual voting.
Here’s an awesome piece from 11 years ago, in which the London Free Press’s Pat Maloney breaks down the campaign of mayor (now podcaster and my regular collaborator) Matt Brown.
Spoilers:
It was $203,000 even back then
Making jokes about Matt’s last name will never stop being funny5
Let’s talk about other candidates now. Staying with the mayoral race…
Shedding light on mayoral challenger Kirsten Krose
She filed on the first day, and we now have a website from our challenger, former Stephen Harper staffer Kirsten Krose. Happily, there is more information about her platform, including a section with the following headings:
Accountable Government
Economic Growth & Small Business
Healthcare & Social Services
Veterans & Community Support
Sustainable Development
Arts, Culture & Community Life
Worth a read. I note words such as “fiscal discipline” and a commitment to support veterans, which is worth remembering next winter, just in case. She also stresses her local roots and gives a better intro to herself as a candidate.
Deputy Mayor Shawn Lewis files to run
It’s that Daryl Newcombe again, catching up with a prominent incumbent as they filed. Story is here.
This time it’s Shawn Lewis, the Deputy Mayor and dominant incumbent in Ward 2. Lewis, who’s been quieter than usual as he handles some health issues, also makes some comments there about when he might run for mayor.
We now have 40 candidates - see the MEGAPOST
Everybody had a weekend to work on their campaigns, platforms, jigsaw puzzles and so on, and I’ve given them time before taking a fresh look at the filings and making updates to the MEGAPOST, which is pinned on the homepage of this site.
With Lewis on board, we now have 40 people vying for council or school board trustees. That’s about halfway to the total amount we might usually get and they’re still coming in fast.
It takes a lot to run. All of these candidates are stepping up. Thank you to every one.
Looking at it in terms of races - regardless of whether challengers are likely to win - I see only three council wards without a fight:
Ward 5, where Corrine Rahman wants to parachute to safety
Ward 8, where Steve Lehman is the only candidate in the city’s most staid ward
Ward 11, where Skylar Franke also has no challenger, at least not yet
And only two incumbents are still to file: Sam Trosow and Paul Van Meerbergen. Councillors Jerry Pribil and Steve Hillier have said they won’t run.
Wait, what about current council business?
Bloody hell. That’s right - we still have an incumbent council, meeting in full today, with an agenda that includes:
An integrity commissioner report that shows a lot of work and no breaches.
Likely some chat about e-scooters and fines and a pilot program - here’s a CTV London report.
Another controversial development which has people angry - this time on Bluegrass Drive in the north west. Total of 20 submissions on that one and I see social media talk of folks showing up.
All other municipal issues since the last Full Council meeting on April 28, because all decisions are converted into bylaws to make them real.
I’ll be watching, and discussing it when I can.
Enough
You know I’ll be back soon, right? I’m cooking up more and watching those candidate filings, while planning your usual free ROUNDUP this Friday.
Look out for opportunities to give me money, coming soon. And stay in touch - if you have a comment, or a story idea, or a great impersonation of George Formby6, get in touch.
What are the odds the gods would put us all on this spot?7
- Mike
Mine was in Dundee so, while I don’t know you all well, that does confirm I can take any of you in a fight.
Craig confirms he is no longer bored.
This metaphor is so mixed up that I think Dr. Nick Riviera operated on it.
Hmmm.
Somebody tried to call it the Brown Wave and didn’t get far.