The former three-term city councilor finally confirmed speculation  Nov. 7 about her political aspirations when she announced her bid to replace leader Howard Hampton at the Workers Art and Heritage Centre.

“It’s time for new voices, for new Democrats,” Mrs. Horwath, 45, said to nearly 200 cheering supporters packed into a medium size room.

“I bring a unique voice (to the race),” she told reporters later. “I have a history, an experience that is extremely different (than the other candidates) to the race. I bring a new face to the NDP party.”

With a majority of her supporters still basking in the recent election of an African-American as U.S. president, they indulged themselves to believe in Ms. Horwath’s goals to change the political culture of Ontario. She said the NDP needs to concentrate on developing people-centered issues such as child care, providing quality health care, poverty reduction, implementing a jobs strategy for desperate families, and what she has dubbed “affordable environmentalism.”

“It’s an opportunity to strike a new page in NDP history and re-brand the party,” she said.

She pointed out as a working mom, with a soon-to-be 16-year-old son, Mrs. Horwath has had to try and balance her private and public lives while bringing up her only child. She has been able to take her son along with her to work, but Mrs. Horwath pointed not all working mothers can do that.

“Women are a big part of my environment and where I came from,” she said.

When asked if it’s time then for a woman to lead the NDP, Mrs. Horwath said “if that is where the membership decides to go, absolutely.”

The daughter of an autoworker from Stoney Creek, Mr. Horwath becomes the first women to enter the NDP leadership race. The other announced candidates are NDP MPPs Peter Tabuns, Michael Prue and Gilles Bisson. The NDP convention is scheduled for March 2009 at the Hamilton Convention Centre.

There is a spending limit of about $500,000 per candidate as they scramble to sign up as many new party members as possible by Jan. 5, 2009.

Mrs. Horwath trumpeted the variety of people who turned out for her announcement from the business community, to people from the immigration-refugee groups, to labour, young and old, male and female.

“People from every walk of life,” she said. “If I can do that (for Hamilton), bring everybody together, that would be fabulous,” she said.

Mrs. Horwath was first elected as an MPP in 2004 after serving as the Ward 2 councillor from 1997. Her election at the time established party status for the NDP in the Legislature.  Before her political career, she was a community development coordinator for the McQuesten Legal and Community Services.

Among her enthusiastic supporters at her announcement were a large group of  Hamilton Firefighters, former Hamilton mayor Bob Wade, NDP MPs Chris Charlton and Wayne Marston, and councillors Scott Duvall, Margaret McCarthy, Brian McHattie, and Sam Merulla.

Although the NDP caucus is still trying to determine which leadership candidate to support, Mrs. Horwath said Mr. Hampton will be staying out of the race and won’t back a candidate.

“I don’t look at (the other candidates) as competition,” said Mrs. Horwath. “I look at it as an opportunity for new ideas, new energy to the NDP.”

The NDP leadership race was prompted after Mr. Hampton announced this spring he was stepping down after 13 years. Mrs. Horwath, the youngest member of the NDP’s 10-member caucus, will quickly try to distinguish herself as the “change” candidate when she joins the other candidates in Toronto Nov. 8 in the first of what will be nine leadership debates across the province. The debates are scheduled to be held in Sudbury, Kingston, London, Ottawa and Hamilton.