Josh Morgan has received another endorsement in his bid to become London's next mayor.
The London and District Labour Council announced which candidates it is backing in the October 24 municipal election on Saturday.
Morgan, who is running on a five pillar platform that includes the creation of 50,000 homes over ten years, was the Labour council's pick for mayor. Morgan is currently the city's deputy mayor and Ward 7 councillor. He is running against former London-Fanshawe MPP Khalil Ramal, Pastor Sandie Thomas, and seven other candidates. Morgan previously secured the endorsement of outgoing London Mayor Ed Holder.
The labour council, which is an umbrella group for London-area labour unions, released its list of municipal election candidate endorsements at an event in the Peace Park off Thames Street. Candidates were selected based on answers they provided to a survey from the council and whether their beliefs align with the core principals of the labour movement.
"We have undertaken an extensive process including ten key questions for municipal candidates and deliberation on the executive board and the general meeting of the Labour Council, in order to finalize the endorsements,” said Council President Patti Dalton.
Among the questions candidates were asked was whether they pledge to run an ethical campaign, their views on the importance of public services and unionized workers, how they would address poverty, the affordability and housing crisis, the climate crisis, and whether they commit to equity and social justice in London. There was also an opportunity for candidates to outline their priorities for the city.
“The municipal election is absolutely critical for the future of our community, and we know that the labour council endorsements are high profile and are significant for all candidates, including those who are running for the first time," said Dalton. "We have been very successful in previous municipal elections at getting a progressive slate of candidates elected."
In addition to Morgan, the council endorsed four incumbent councillors, and 12 council hopefuls. The council endorsed two candidates each in wards 6 and 14.
The full list of endorsements is as follows:
Mayor – Josh Morgan
Ward 1 – Hadleigh McAlister
Ward 2 – Shawn Lewis (incumbent)
Ward 3 – Ainsley Graham
Ward 4 – Matt Nicolaidis
Ward 5 – Connor Pierotti
Ward 6 – Mariam Hamou (incumbent), Sam Trosow
Ward 7 – Corrine Rahman
Ward 8 – Colleen McCauley
Ward 9 – Anna Hopkins (incumbent)
Ward 10 – Kevin May
Ward 11 – Skylar Franke
Ward 12 – Elizabeth Peloza (incumbent)
Ward 13 – David Millie
Ward 14 – Sarah Lehman, Danalynn Williams