This should go without saying, but whether someone wants wards eliminated or not doesn't mean they don't want to get on council via the ward position.

Kelly wrote: Interesting question and posed for Mike Presta:   Why is Ann Mort running for a Seat that she was key in helping to abolish?   SO many answers to this question!

That’s an interesting question, but it is really one Ms.Mort should be answering, not me.

However, since you asked, I can hypothesize:

Since no one seemed to be coming forward in the First Ward,perhaps Middletown’s movers and shakers saw her as a perfect fit pseudo-runningmate for Lawrence “It’s-always-sunny-in-Middletown” Mulligan???

There is merit to Acclaro’s argument.  In two years, when the terms of the fourCouncil persons representing the Wards expire, the “down-sizing” of citycouncil (to a total of FIVE—four plus the mayor) will take effect, and only TWOnew at-large seats will be up for grabs. Perhaps MMF thinks it would be much easier for them to re-elect an incumbentthan a new face, especially if there were to be three non-MMF incumbentsrunning for the TWO seats???  (The fourthincumbent will be either Mr. Picard, if he loses his two-year-early at-large attemptor his MMF hand-picked, appointed successor if he wins this attempt.)

Also, one of the reasons given for the elimination ofWards and down-sizing council was that having seven council members madecouncil too difficult to control. Perhaps MMF thought that by installing another compliant person who theyare certain will “play nice” would help keep the seven-member council undercontrol???