Mayoral candidate Tom Wolf is questioning incumbent Don Atchison’s leadership skills, calling his track record of managing large infrastructural projects “dismal.”

Wolf’s comments come after the city announced Monday that there are no guarantees the Circle Drive South project will be finished by Oct. 30 -- one month behind the original deadline -- due to a wet spring and high water tables.

According to the 47-year-old research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, voters cannot trust the three-term mayor to deliver on his promises.

“Now we have a $300-million project that’s going to sit empty for another winter,” Wolf told reporters Tuesday at a press conference.

Wolf said Atchison needs take a more active leadership role and not allow city’s administration to take the reins on whether or not Graham-Flatiron, the joint venture in charge of the project, will be fined $10,000 a day starting Oct. 1.

“We need someone sitting in the mayor’s chair who thinks it’s his job to accept responsibility for the scope of this failure.”

But according to Atchison, the focus should not be on fines but getting the project complete.

“The first thing we need to do is to ensure that we get the project completed. After it’s completed, the contractor and the city can sit down and have those discussions.”

On Monday, the city did not confirm whether the company will face the fines.  The details of the contract are “not subject to public discussion or disclosure,” stated a press release.

Wolf also used Tuesday’s media event to launch his new interactive website, yxemoves.ca. The site is meant to generate discussion on how transportation networks have changed as the city continues to grow, said Wolf.

“If we keep doing everything the same way it is only going to make the problem worse.”