And then there were 8...again.

Another man has joined the race to fill Welland's empty seat on Regional Council.

John Watt has filed his nomination papers.  Watt has launched 6 unsuccessful bids for city mayor.

He joins other familiar names like Peter Kormos, Damian Goulbourne, David Alexander & Larry Lemelin in field Brock University municipal politics expert David Siegel calls "interesting".

He tells 610 CKTB News having so many candidates means its unlikely anyone will run away with a majority of votes.

Siegel says Kormos jumping in came as a bit of a surprise & throws a wrench into what looked to be a stable road to victory for former Welland mayor Damian Goulbourne.

While both men have significant support, Siegel says Goulbourne has the advantage of having served municipally more recently than Kormos.  Kormos on the other hand has never lost a contest for his provincial seat before giving it up last year.

Siegel doesn't think the former mayor or MPP will be hurt by the fact that they both held office as Welland went through an economic downtown & dramatic job losses.

But this is no 2 man race.

Siegel says former Welland city councillor David Alexander could shake things up after a strong showing in the 2010 mayoral contest.

Welland voters will pick a new regional representative March 26th.