Veteran Ottawa politician Alex Cullen announced Tuesday he is dropping out of the race for mayor and will run for re-election in Bay Ward.
The current Ottawa city councillor says a lack of money to run a campaign pushed him out of the race.
"Running for mayor is a big deal and most candidates running for mayor rely heavily on corporate contributions, but I think there's a conflict of interest.
"You don't find Tim Horton's or Shoppers Drug Mart providing contributions for mayoral candidates –- you find developers, you find construction companies, you find waste management companies, people who do business with the city, and I don't think that's appropriate," Cullen told CTV Ottawa.
Cullen only raised $20,000 of the $100,000 needed to compete. Incumbent Mayor Larry O'Brien and former MPP Jim Watson are expected to raise more than $400,000.
Cullen admits part of the reason he wants to run as the incumbent in Bay Ward is to take on candidate Terry Kilrea.
Kilrea got 40 per cent of the vote in Bay Ward when he ran against Cullen in the last election.
Cullen said Tuesday he does not want Kilrea to be his successor.
Kilrea says: "The problem is Alex has neglected that ward and basically done nothing for Bay Ward, so he's desperately scrambling for an excuse to run there and he needs the job."
