Hamilton’s wide-open municipal races
Four wards do not have an incumbent councillor on the ballot — and that means new faces at the council horseshoe after Oct. 22
After the Oct. 22 municipal election, there will be at least four new faces on council (thanks to incumbents stepping down and the institution of new ward boundaries).
The four open wards — which all happen to fall within the preamalgamation boundaries of the old City of Hamilton — each have a crowded field of candidates vying for a spot at the council horseshoe.
Here’s a recap of the issues, candidates, and notable moments in the city’s open races.
Ward 1
There are a whopping 13 candidates vying for election in this west-central Hamilton ward. Incumbent Aidan Johnson, first elected in 2014, is not running.
• Former Metrolinx staffer Jason Allen scored a high-profile endorsement when Naheed Nenshi, the nationally known Mayor of Calgary, threw his support behind Allen. The pair were friends in grade school, Nenshi explained in a video on Allen’s social media.
• Maureen Wilson, the former chief of staff for former Mayor Bob Wade, has led a vigorous campaign. Her volunteers have led an aggressive door-knocking campaign, and her trademark pink signs dot lawns throughout the ward. She has garnered several high-profile endorsements, including former MPP Ted McMeekin, outgoing Ward 3 Coun. Matt Green, LGBTQ activist Deirdre Pike, and former Hamilton Police Chief Ken Robertson.
• Most of the candidates running are strong supporters of LRT — though not Carol Lazich. She is the most vehement opponent of the transit project, describing herself as an “advocate against LRT.”
• This race also features two of the youngest hopefuls across the city: Sophie Geffros, a community organizer/researcher and accessibility advocate, is 23, and Harrison White, a student and customer service employee, is 22.
Other candidates include Sharon Anderson, Syed Bakht, Sharon Cole, Ela Eroglu, Jordan Geertsma, Richard Massie, Lyla Miklos and Linda Narducci.
Ward 3
The race in Ward 3, which includes the Stinson, Stipley, Crown Point, Keith, and Gibson neighbourhoods, is also a race with 13 candidates. Incumbent councillor Matthew Green announced he is running for the federal NDP nomination for Hamilton Centre instead of taking a shot at another term on council.
• Nrinder Nann, former manager of community development for the City of Toronto, has led an visible online campaign featuring slick videos and a strong social media presence. She received an endorsement from NDP MP David Christopherson and outgoing councillor Matthew Green (Nann ran his successful 2014 municipal campaign).
• Palliative-care nurse Amanda Salonen made headlines last week when she helped rescue an elderly woman who had a seizure, fell, and hit her head. As Salonen was handing out campaign literature, she heard the woman’s cries, called 911, and got the superintendent to unlock the woman’s door. Salonen, working two jobs while campaigning, said everyone in the ward has been incredibly friendly. • Candidate Ned Kuruc has focused on policing and crime, calling loudly for more police presence in the ward.
Other candidates include Milena Balta, Keith Beck , Alain Bureau, Steven Paul Denault, Laura Farr, Brendan Kavanaugh, Tony Lemma, Stephen Rowe, Dan Smith and Kristeen Sprague.
Ward 7
Ward 7, the most populous ward in the city with at 47,460 people, is wide open thanks to a combination of factors, including a revolving door of councillors and new ward boundaries. It remains the most populous ward despite losing a chunk of its footprint to Ward 8 after electoral boundaries were redrawn.
• This ward has seen major upheaval since the 2014 election. Coun. Scott Duvall, who was elected in 2014, left council and successfully ran for the federal NDP in 2015 in Hamilton Mountain.
Donna Skelly, a former TV reporter, won a byelection against 21 other candidates to replace Duvall — only to leave city hall to run successfully for the provincial Progressive Conservatives this spring. An interim councillor, former alderman Terry Anderson, has been handling the ward since August.
• Geraldine McMullen is using her previous campaign experience to try and bring voters to her camp. In a campaign video, McMullen points out that she’s the only candidate running in Ward 7 who also ran in 2014. She also promised to bring “stability” to the ward’s leadership, even promising to move within the boundaries of the ward if it’s important for her constituents. She has also garnered an endorsement from former NDP MP Chris Charlton.
• Esther Pauls garnered some name recognition as the Progressive Conservative candidate for Hamilton Mountain in this spring’s provincial election. She ultimately lost, coming in second to NDP incumbent Monique Taylor.
• Autoworker Dan MacIntyre is the only candidate running in Ward 7 who strongly supports LRT. He has also garnered media attention for his efforts to warn neighbourhood residents about an influx of coyotes, and his opposition to the Sonoma Towers development at Upper Sherman and Acadia.
Other candidates include Steve Benson, Steve Clarke, Kristopher Clowater, Adam Dirani, Karen Grice-Uggenti, Joseph Kazubek, Jim McColl and Roland Schneider.
Ward 8
Ward 8 is open thanks to new ward boundaries, created after the Ontario Municipal Board mandated the creation of an additional ward on the Mountain to better reflect the area’s population density. Coun. Terry Whitehead, who has represented this area since 2003, is choosing to run in the adjacent Ward 14 (where he lives) — leaving a vacancy in Ward 8.
• Election signs — and whether candidates are abusing them — have been a major issue in this Mountain ward. John-Paul Danko, who came in second in the Ward 7 byelection to Donna Skelly, says other candidates are posting signs on lawns without permission (particularly rental housing, where tenants may assume the landlord requested the sign or vice versa).
• Eve Adams’ campaign got attention after she published an endorsement from “Andrea Horvath” in an orange background in some campaign literature. While the campaign said it was an endorsement from her family member, others accused Adams of trying to mislead voters into thinking she had received an endorsement from Hamilton MPP and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath (which is pronounced “Horvath.”)
• Colleen Wicken, former assistant to Coun. Terry Whitehead, raised eyebrows when she chose to run in Ward 8, which includes much of the home turf of her former boss. Instead of running against her, Whitehead chose to run in neighbouring Ward 14. Whitehead has also complained to police and publicly accused Wicken of stealing a database of resident email addresses.
• CHCH weather personality Steve Ruddick garnered the endorsement of Coun. Terry Whitehead. Ruddick ran for the provincial Liberals in Hamilton Centre in 2007.
Other candidates are Christopher Climie and Anthony Simpson.