Thunder Bay will be getting a new mayor this fall, after Bill Mauro says he's not running

Thunder Bay will have a new mayor after this fall's municipal election.

Mayor Bill Mauro announced Wednesday he won't seek re-election, after nearly 25 years in municipal and provincial politics.

"I've been considering this with some seriousness since around December, where I really began thinking about it, and just felt that the time was right," Mauro told CBC News on Wednesday."I've greatly enjoyed my political work."

"It was not something that I had an ambition to do at any point, but one thing led to another," he said. "And 25 years later, here you are."

Mauro began his career in 1997, when he was first elected to city council, and was acclaimed for a second term in 2000.

Then, in 2003, he was elected for his first term as an MPP, representing the Thunder Bay-Atikokan riding for the Liberal party.

Mauro was defeated in the 2018 provincial election, and returned to the mayor's seat the same year.

Bombardier plant, angioplasty listed as major accomplishments

Mauro said there's a "long list" of things he's proud of as a politician.

"Certainly provincially, there's so much that that happened during our 15 years in government,." he said. "I think of what occurred at Bombardier, what that meant to the city. I don't think people have ever really realized how much of an economic impact that had, and the policy work, it was was really the first file I began working on in 2003, getting Canadian content.

"Many of those jobs came as a result," Mauro said. "The one promise I made in 25 years of political work was angioplasty in the 2003 provincial election. I delivered on that."

"That's been saving lives and providing better health outcomes for 10 or 12 years now."

Mauro was also proud of his work to get a cardiovascular surgery unit in Thunder Bay, four-laning highways in the region, and the city's law school and new courthouse.

But there have been frustrations, as well. Recently, Mauro has been a major proponent of a proposed indoor turf sports facility, which was dealt a major blow when it was rejected for federal funding.

Mauro is also a member of the city's police services board, which is currently being overseen by an administrator, following months of intense scrutiny and pressure.

The board, in turn, oversees the Thunder Bay Police Service, which has been embroiled in controversy in recent years; on Tuesday, it was announced that police Chief Sylvie Hauth was suspended, as she'll be the subject of Police Services Act hearings over allegations of misconduct.

The announcement of the hearings came on Thursday, the same day Hauth announced her intention to retire next June.

The service's deputy police chief, Ryan Hughes, is also under suspension, and a number of human rights complaints against police administration have been filed by officers.

Mauro wasn't ready to announce what he'd be doing after the current term is up in October he said, however,he's not going to retire and didn't completely close the door on re-entering politics in the future.