Re-election bid "a mistake" says O'Brien

And now, from the man who told us he'd been the worst mayor ever days before asking us to re-elect him, more refreshing honesty: In an interview with the CBC's Adrian Harewood to mark the anniversary of his election defeat, Larry O'Brien says he regrets gunning for a second term in office.

"In retrospect, the decision to go the second time was a mistake, because my heart wasn't really in it." says O'Brien. "I (was) told by others who seemed to be fairly knowledgable that you never walk away from that job. It's like a head coach, you find very few head coaches of hockey teams that resign on their own. They're there until they get booted out."

It's an interesting insight into what was going on in the O'Brien camp a year ago. In a way it explains why O'Brien took so long to declare his candidacy. He was conflicted. Most people would have been, after the experience he'd had (he also told Adrian his criminal trial was the worst experience of his life...presumably that would include a severe illness that nearly killed him years earlier.) On the other hand, it was uncharacteristic of O'Brien to let his handlers tell him what to do. Makes you wonder who the "others" were, and why they held so much influence.