On Sunday, I published the sixth installment of my CBRM mayoral candidate ranking series. Among the 15 new people I added to the list, was Archie MacKinnon. Please check out the ranking to see if someone you believe has leadership abilities is included.

If you don't recognize Archie MacKinnon from his recent bid to become a Member of Parliament for Sydney Victoria, you might recognize him as a Toronto Maple Leafs superfan. He's been interviewed in the media in that role - one in which it would be hard to find someone more committed!

Archie is a tough as nails, blue-collar tradesman. And if you met him on the street without knowing the man, you probably wouldn't recognize him as someone that's been politically involved for most of his life. There's no pretentious clothing or $100 haircut and, for better or worse, he's the type of person who's gonna tell you what he cares about and what he's thinking without mincing his words.

To his credit, unlike many others, he's self-aware. In his campaign for MP, he frequently acknowledged that he planned for his "mouth" to be one of his biggest assets, never ceasing to tell the government and its bureaucrats of our local needs.

Many would write Archie off because of his unique call-em-as-he-sees-em approach in a political role, but it was difficult to ignore his passion for his community. He focused attention on child poverty throughout the campaign and frequently talked about the emotional experiences he had while meeting people who were struggling while knocking on doors.

By no means a fan of Mayor Cecil Clarke, after Archie's shocking performance in his federal bid, he soon after floated the idea in social media that running for mayor might be his next target.

While many candidates that get stereotyped as fringe perform accordingly, Archie defied expectations. He won 5,679 votes. Although he finished in fourth place to a strong Jodi McDavid third place for the NDP, he was acknowledged in the national media as being the third strongest independent candidate in all of Canada during the election.

One of the biggest casualties of Archie's popularity was Conservative candidate Eddie Orrell. Facing off against a controversy-laden Jaime Battiste - whose campaign came close to fully imploding - Orrell's chances should have been about as good as he could hope for. However, given the final margin of victory for Battiste, Orrell was short by just over 1,000 votes. More likely than not, the missing votes he needed to fly off to Ottawa were won by Archie instead.

And that's the Archie MacKinnon Factor.

Archie will be a wildcard in this upcoming mayoral election. Although, he's still unlikely to win it, his ability to pull votes can be the spoiler in many scenarios.

This wildcard status also gives Archie the power to endorse and campaign for his chosen candidate, which can help push them to victory instead.

Certainly, if one of Archie's most important objectives is to ensure Cecil Clarke does not become mayor for a third term, his best way to achieve it is to get behind a candidate who meets his approval. Entering the race without analyzing the matchups could also gift Clarke his third mayoral victory. MacKinnon has to avoid shooting himself in the foot by vote splitting.

While nobody has announced their definitive intentions to run for mayor yet, I think two of the strongest competitors are progressive and vocal councillors Amanda McDougall and Earlene MacMullin.

McDougall has solidly maintained a position at the top of my rankings.

MacMullin is also quickly climbing the ranks. In fact, although not widely known, she was just inches away from becoming a Member of Parliament. Had she run in place of Jaime Battiste, she would have defeated Eddie Orrell by an even wider margin. MacMullin has a solid community advocacy record, has been one of the strongest councillors who yields to no one, and has no scandals to face during her campaign. On the day of the member voting to choose the Liberal candidate for Sydney Victoria, Jaime Battiste's campaign arranged for food to be served at the voting location, and bused in supporters who had been encouraged to create memberships. At the time, there was rumbling from the campaigns, though it was quickly subdued likely due to the need for the Liberals to avoid showing any bad blood amidst their ranks heading into an election. MacMullin was said to have finished a very close second to Battiste and may indeed have lost her MP candidacy bid by way of some new members more interested in pizza than politics.

If one of these two women, McDougall or MacMullin, choose to run, both are strong contenders.

In a head to head match up with Cecil Clarke, I think either will defeat him. Rankin MacSween's support within the community is also dormant but still ready to reawaken when the time comes. Although MacSween is unlikely to run again, his supporters will quickly shift to either of these two women if and when they decide. We might call it the Rankin Factor!

The difference in the "factors" is that Archie is a wildcard. Rankin's support has a more predictable path of transition to other candidates.

With Archie rallying his blue-collar supporters all across the CBRM, he can swing thousands of votes for either Earlene or Amanda. While he may not be able to win the mayor's chair himself, it's possible that Archie MacKinnon might be the guy who gets to decide who should take out his rival Cecil Clarke.

He has the leverage to make a smart campaign endorsement of his preferred rival candidate.

I'd certainly like to see him do so. However, one thing is for sure: Archie is a fighter. He may simply decide that he wants to slug it out in the mayoral campaign himself, win or lose.

Oftentimes, that's what having passion for something you believe in leads people to do. People give up their lives for their country. Indeed, sometimes passion leads to sacrifice, even at the small-town political level.

I'm hoping that Archie runs the numbers and wins this election strategically. And by that, I mean he'll have to sacrifice his own opportunity to become mayor in order to maximize the chances we gain a new mayor and a new direction for the people of the CBRM.

For supporters of Archie who strongly desire to have a fighting spirit in the mayor's seat, they need not be disappointed with the alternatives. Both McDougall and MacMullin can both mix it up in Council and frequently do just that. Their passion nor their strength as leaders is to be underestimated. Here's a video sample to give you all an idea of what to expect.

But what will Archie decide?

NOTE: The views expressed above are my own and do not represent lokol (goCapeBreton.com). Read more