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Bob Bratina | |
|---|---|
_(cropped2).jpg) Bratina in 2017 | |
| Member of Parliament forHamilton East—Stoney Creek | |
| In office October 19, 2015 – September 20, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Wayne Marston |
| Succeeded by | Chad Collins |
| 56thMayor of Hamilton | |
| In office December 1, 2010 – December 3, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Fred Eisenberger |
| Succeeded by | Fred Eisenberger |
| Hamilton City Councillor | |
| In office October 5, 2004 – December 1, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Andrea Horwath |
| Succeeded by | Jason Farr |
| Constituency | Ward 2 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Bratina 1944 (age 80–81) Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal (Until 2022)[1] |
| Other political affiliations | Ontario Liberal[2] |
| Spouse | |
| Residence | Hamilton[3] |
| Profession |
|
Robert Bratina (born 1944) is a Canadian politician and former broadcaster who was the 56thmayor of Hamilton from 2010 to 2014. Previously, he sat on theHamilton City Council from 2004 until 2010. He went on to be theLiberalmember of Parliament for theriding ofHamilton East—Stoney Creek from 2015 to 2021.
Bratina was born in 1944 in Hamilton and grew up in the city's East End.[4][5] Bratina's father immigrated to Hamilton fromZagreb,Croatia at the age of six,[6] and worked forDofasco. Bratina is ofSerbian andCroatian ancestry.[7][8][9] He is an alumnus of Delta High School.[10] After graduation, Bratina worked at Dofasco, his father's workplace.[6]
Dissatisfied with the nature of his work at Dofasco, Bratina pursued his childhood dream of working in radio broadcasting. Always wanting to work in radio, he found his first broadcasting job atCJCS inStratford in 1965.[6][11]
Bratina joinedCHML Radio in Hamilton in 1970 after working forCKOC. In 1977, he left forCKKW-FM inKitchener, Ontario before returning in 1990. Bratina was the morning show co-host with Shiona Thompson on CHML, until September 2010, when he decided to resign his co-host job to run for Mayor of Hamilton.[12]
Bratina was also theplay-by-play voice forHamilton Tiger-Cats.[13] He also filled that role forToronto Argonauts, combining for a total of 20 seasons, and never missed a broadcast for more than 500 games.[14] He also broadcast McMaster Football and Basketball games, and was commentator on junior hockey broadcasts in Kitchener (CKKW) and Senior A hockey in Guelph (Regals).[citation needed]
In 1998, Bratina was inducted as a member of theFootball Reporters of Canada Hall of Fame.[15]
Bratina was a nominee for Hamilton Citizen of the Year, won Hamilton Mountain Citizen of the Year, member ofGO Transit Board of Directors, Art Gallery of Hamilton Board of Directors, Theatre Aquarius Board of Directors, and HECFI Board of Directors.[16][17]
Bratina was elected in a 2004 by-election called upon the previous councillor,Andrea Horwath's, election asMPP forHamilton Centre.[18] Bratina campaigned on a platform of citizen participation at City Hall, downtown revitalization and greater integrity at city hall.[19] He was reelected in the2006 municipal election.
During his time as Ward Two councillor, Bratina sat on theGO Transit Board of Directors.[20] Bratina advocated for transportation changes in Hamilton, such as returning rail passenger service toHamilton GO Centre and moving idling buses from the downtown Gore Park area to a new transit terminal on MacNab Street.[citation needed]
Due to the age of many of the buildings in Bratina's downtown ward, he became a vocal advocate for updating Hamilton's aging lead-based infrastructure. His concerns over high lead readings in city drinking water resulted in a lead water service replacement loan program and a lead blood screening program for young children[citation needed]
A controversial public figure, Bratina was both rated as one of Hamilton's most trustworthy politicians by readers ofView Magazine and publicly criticized for unprofessional conduct, including an incident in which he tossed a pen during a council meeting.[21]
Bratina ran for mayor again in2022, placing third with 12.27% of the vote. The election was won byAndrea Horwath.[22]
In late summer of 2010, Bratina announced that he would not seek re-election in Ward Two, opting instead to run for mayor against incumbentFred Eisenberger and former mayorLarry Di Ianni, citing his reasoning as what he believed to be Eisenberger's poor handling of the site-selection process for a proposed stadium to be built in preparation for the2015 Toronto Pan Am Games.[23] Bratina lead in opinion polls for much of the campaign and, on election night, won 37.32% of the vote and carried 12 of the city's 15 wards to become the city's 57th mayor.[24]
In December 2011 Bratina defended a $30,000 pay increase for his chief of staff, Peggy Chapman, by saying that the raise was the result of a standard re-evaluation of salaries by the city's human resources department.[25] Acting on a complaint, the city's integrity commissioner presented a report to Council on in May 2012 clearing Bratina of three allegations related to bullying city staff and breaking city compensation, finding no evidence of misconduct. On the fourth allegation, the report found that Bratina had broken the Council Code of Conduct when he provided misleading information to the editorial board ofThe Hamilton Spectator, but said that he had not done so deliberately or out of malice.[26]
In August 2012, Bratina was awarded theQueen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the second Queen's Jubilee Medal that he was given for his contributions to Hamilton.[27][6]
As mayor, Bratina spoke out against thecity's light rail transit plan, advocating instead for improvements to theHamilton Street Railway's bus service and increases inGO Transit frequency because he said the city's ridership levels were too low to support light rail – a position which brought him into opposition with some members of the council.[28][29] Hamilton City Council approved the city's Rapid ReadyLRT plan in February 2013,[30] but Bratina but continued to speak out against it. After an interview withThe Hamilton Spectator, the paper said that he had incorrectly claimed PremierKathleen Wynne had told him Hamilton would have to choose between LRT and aStoney Creek GO Train extension,[31] but Bratina said that he had been misquoted by the paper.[32]
In April 2013, city councillors Jason Farr and Sam Merulla claimed that Bratina had attempted to intimidate Hamilton's City Manager, Chris Murray during a heated debate on light rail.[32][33] After the city council voted to refer it to the Integrity Commissioner, the subsequent report cleared Bratina, finding that while his actions "not appropriate," they did not violate the Council Code of Conduct because neither Murray nor other city employees present had felt threatened.[34]
Bratina did not run for reelection in the city's2014 municipal elections, opting instead to seek nomination as aLiberal candidate in the2015 Canadian federal election.[35] According toCBC News, despite conflicts with council, Bratina's term as mayor saw the completion of a new stadium, development in the downtown core, low tax increases, and a move to solve the impasse in the local Randle Reef project.[36]
In October 2015, a report by theManning Centre on the dynamics of Hamilton City Council during Bratina's tenure found that the mayor was the only member of the council to have attended every council meeting, and that despite conflict with council, Bratina had always voted with the majority on the council.[37]
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After opting to not contest Hamilton's mayoralty in 2014, Bratina was rumoured to be seeking the Liberal Party's nomination to run as a candidate inHamilton Centre. Having previously been approached by the Liberals to challenge Hamilton Centre'sNew Democrat incumbentDavid Christopherson in 2009, speculation focused on Bratina's potential candidacy in the inner-city riding.[38] In August, 2014, Bratina announced he was seeking the Liberal nomination in the neighbouring riding ofHamilton East—Stoney Creek, challenging New Democrat incumbentWayne Marston.[39] Bratina was acclaimed the Liberal candidate for the riding on October 29, 2014.[35]
In campaigning for Parliament, Bratina emphasized a platform of serving as a strong voice on Parliament Hill and continuing his fight for increased transportation funding for theGTHA corridor.[40] Bratina was elected on October 19, 2015, with 38.8% of the vote, defeating Marston, who placed second with 32.7%.[41]The Canadian Press touted Bratina as a potential member of the29th Canadian Ministry led by Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau, because of his experience in Hamilton's municipal government.[13]
In February 2017, aprivate member's bill introduced by Bratina after theFlint water crisis to create a national strategy to managelead contamination in drinking water reached the committee stage.[42]
In February 2019, Bratina, while in a meeting with union representatives for local steelworkers, allegedly lost his temper when challenged by union representatives about his promise to advocate for Hamilton area steel workers. The union stated that Bratina shouted "F--k steelworkers" and "F--k those Stelco pensioners"[43] before telling them to get out of his "(expletive) office" then violently slamming the door behind them.[44]
On February 28, 2019 neighbouring MPScott Duvall claimed Bratina "verbally abused the delegation; attempted to physically intimidate them by striking various pieces of furniture and violently slamming his office door; insulted and disparaged the organization, including the retirees of Stelco Inc., and expelled them from his office".[45] Bratina later said he regrets the "inferences" that came out of a meeting.[46]
In May 2021, Bratina announced that he would not seek re-election in the2021 Canadian federal election, citing his disagreement with the federal decision to contribute 1.7 billion dollars to theHamilton LRT as a major reason. In an exit interview, Bratina criticized the project's cost and its lack of connections to theGO Transit transit and also left the door open to a future mayoral run.[47]
He endorsed theConservative Party of Canada in the2025 Canadian federal election and left the Liberal party.[48] In the lead-up to the2025 election, he actively supportedConservative candidateNed Kuruc inHamilton East-Stoney Creek, the riding he formerly represented as MP.[49][50]
Bratina's wife of fifty years, Carol, sang with his former group the Balkan StringsTamburitza Orchestra, now disbanded, in which he played thebrač,clarinet,saxophone andaccordion.[51][8][13]
Bratina was an avid marathon runner, finishing 18 marathons, including theBoston Marathon, tenAround the Bay Road Races in Hamilton, and numerous other distances. At 70 years of age, he challenged the 40-year-old mayor of Flint, Michigan, to a mile race at the 2013 Canusa games.[6][8]
| 2019 Canadian federal election:Hamilton East—Stoney Creek | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Bob Bratina | 20,112 | 38.57 | -0.42 | $70,837.02 | |||
| New Democratic | Nick Milanovic | 14,930 | 28.63 | -4.08 | $64,221.61 | |||
| Conservative | Nikki Kaur | 13,130 | 25.18 | -0.08 | $75,555.96 | |||
| Green | Peter Ormond | 2,902 | 5.57 | +2.97 | $4,130.84 | |||
| People's | Charles Crocker | 1,072 | 2.06 | none listed | ||||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 52,146 | 98.99 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 533 | 1.01 | +0.43 | |||||
| Turnout | 52,679 | 61.79 | -0.99 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 85,252 | |||||||
| Liberalhold | Swing | +1.83 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[52][53] | ||||||||
| 2015 Canadian federal election | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Bob Bratina | 19,622 | 38.99 | +25.41 | $64,967.22 | |||
| New Democratic | Wayne Marston | 16,465 | 32.71 | -11.54 | $69,194.30 | |||
| Conservative | Diane Bubanko | 12,715 | 25.26 | -11.66 | $23,736.31 | |||
| Green | Erin Davis | 1,305 | 2.59 | -0.26 | $1,551.87 | |||
| Communist | Bob Mann | 170 | 0.34 | – | ||||
| Marxist–Leninist | Wendell Fields | 55 | 0.11 | – | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 50,332 | 100.00 | $215,134.00 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 293 | 0.58 | ||||||
| Turnout | 50,625 | 63.25 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 80,042 | |||||||
| Liberalgain fromNew Democratic | Swing | +18.48 | ||||||
| Source:Elections Canada[54][55] | ||||||||
| Candidate | Popular vote | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±% | ||||||||||
| Bob Bratina | 52,684 | 37.32% | n/a | |||||||||
| Larry Di Ianni | 40,091 | 28.40% | -14.44% | |||||||||
| Fred Eisenberger(incumbent) | 38,719 | 27.43% | -15.78% | |||||||||
| Michael Baldasaro | 2,892 | 2.05% | -1.56% | |||||||||
| Tone Marrone | 1,052 | 0.75% | n/a | |||||||||
| Mahesh Butani | 950 | 0.67% | n/a | |||||||||
| Glenn Hamilton | 949 | 0.67% | n/a | |||||||||
| Pasquale (Pat) Filice | 768 | 0.54% | n/a | |||||||||
| Ken Leach | 577 | 0.41% | n/a | |||||||||
| Andrew Haines | 557 | 0.39% | n/a | |||||||||
| Mark Wozny | 433 | 0.31% | n/a | |||||||||
| Steven Waxman | 429 | 0.30% | n/a | |||||||||
| Edward Graydon | 404 | 0.29% | n/a | |||||||||
| Gino Speziale | 356 | 0.25% | -0.77% | |||||||||
| Victor Veri | 313 | 0.22% | n/a | |||||||||
| Total votes | 141,174 | 100% | ||||||||||
| Registered voters | 353,317 | 40.45% | +3.2% | |||||||||
| Note: All Hamilton Municipal Elections are officially non-partisan. Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.) and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates. | ||||||||||||
| Sources:Hamilton, Ontario, City Clerk's Office | ||||||||||||
| Candidate | Popular vote | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±% | ||||||||||
| Bob Bratina(incumbent) | 4,001 | 66.78% | +30.04%Note 1 | |||||||||
| Judy MacDonald-Musitano | 1,424 | 23.77% | +17.75%Note 1 | |||||||||
| Dawn Lescaudron | 319 | 5.32% | - | |||||||||
| Haider Shaikh | 247 | 4.12% | - | |||||||||
| Total votes | 5,991 | 100% | ||||||||||
| Registered voters | 19,782 | 31.25% | ||||||||||
| Note: All Hamilton Municipal Elections are officially non-partisan. Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.) and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates. Note 1: Results compared to 2004 By-Election | ||||||||||||
| Sources:Hamilton, Ontario, City Clerk's Office | ||||||||||||
| Candidate | Popular vote | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | ±% | ||||||||||
| Bob Bratina | 1,856 | 37.74% | - | |||||||||
| James Novak | 1,152 | 22.80% | -4.84%(Note 1) | |||||||||
| Don Drury | 1,094 | 21.66% | - | |||||||||
| Loren Lieberman | 387 | 7.66% | - | |||||||||
| Judy MacDonald-Musitano | 304 | 6.02% | - | |||||||||
| Robert Hugh Cameron | 84 | 1.66% | - | |||||||||
| Michael Baldasaro | 52 | 1.03% | - | |||||||||
| Alex Garofolo | 43 | 0.85% | - | |||||||||
| Keith Beck | 29 | 0.57% | - | |||||||||
| Dan Langan | 29 | 0.57% | - | |||||||||
| Jerry Moore | 22 | 0.44% | -3.6%(Note 1) | |||||||||
| Total votes | 5,052 | |||||||||||
| Registered voters | 25980 | 19.47% | -8.53% | |||||||||
| Note: All Hamilton Municipal Elections are officially non-partisan. Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.) and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates. Note 1: Results compared to2003 Municipal Election | ||||||||||||
| Sources:[56] | ||||||||||||
Kanadski Hrvat Robert Bob Bratina izabran je za gradonačelnika Hamiltona u pokrajini Ontariju, devetoga najvećeg grada u Kanadi s više od 700 tisuća stanovnika.("Canadian Croat Robert Bob Bratina was elected as a mayor of Hamilton in the province of Ontario, the ninth largest city in Canada with more than 700 000 inhabitants.")
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