Boshcoff says he won’t run for mayor

Ken Boshcoff won’t be running for mayor after all.

Boshcoff, who served two terms at Thunder Bay’s helm from 1997 to 2003, confirmed this week that despite pressure mounting for him to join the four-candidate race, his consulting business is keeping him far too busy to consider another run at the mayor’s chair.

The 61-year-old said he will remain a candidate for the federal Liberals in the Thunder Bay-Rainy River riding, acknowledging an election could come as soon as this fall or as late as 2013 when mandated by Canadian law.

After retiring from municipal politics in 2003, Boshcoff spent two terms as a federal MP before losing to the NDP’s John Rafferty in the 2008 federal election.

"As I thought about the ways there are to serve a community, I realized that my business has been growing to the point where I just can’t do the full-time commitment for the hours that it would be necessary to be mayor and still earn a living," Boshcoff said.

It was a difficult decision, he added, noting that he misses municipal politics.

Though he never publicly said he was thinking about entering the race, his name has been bandied about for months as a possible candidate alongside incumbent Mayor Lynn Peterson and challengers Keith Hobbs, Jeff Irwin and Brian Kwasny.

It’s good to feel wanted, Boshcoff said.

"In the past year I would say I would be getting somewhere between several and a lot of people every day encouraging me to run, which I thought was very inspiring and it makes working for the community gratifying," he said. "It’s nice to be appreciated."

Boshcoff estimated he put in between 90 and 100 hours a week on average during his six years as mayor, which forced him to leave the business world behind.

"You can’t really row in two boats," he said. "I’m enjoying (my work) a lot now because in business development and helping people on the employment side of things, it’s also very gratifying."

Candidates have until 2 p.m. on Sept. 10 to file to run in the Oct. 25 municipal election.