Hamilton, Ontario, municipal election, 2018

Hamilton municipal election, 2018
October 22, 2018

The fifteen wards of the City of Hamilton contested in the 2014 election. Council has indicated a need to redraw the city's ward boundaries for the 2018 election.
Mayor before election

Fred Eisenberger
Independent

 Elected Mayor

TBD

The 2018 Hamilton municipal election will occur on October 22, 2018, as per the Ontario Municipal Elections Act, 1996.[1][2] Electors in Hamilton will be selecting one Mayor, members of the Hamilton, Ontario, City Council and members of both English and French Public and Catholic School Boards.[3]

Issues

Ward boundary reform

In June 2012, councillors committed $260,000 to conduct a study that would examine boundary reform in 2015, with a proposal to come forward regarding changes for the 2018 Municipal Election.[4] This was following the 2006-2010 and 2010-2014 councils opting to push an examination of ward boundaries into the next council term.[5]

The issue arose during the 2014 municipal election, with Hamilton's three top mayoral contenders supporting ward boundary reform during their campaigns.[6] In early 2015, councillors approved city staff's request to put out a call for proposals for the consultants who would examine ward boundaries.[7] The successful bidders, Watson and Associates Economists Ltd., then began a process of public consultation and examination. Throughout February, 2016, community consolation meetings were held across Hamilton to inform the public and collect feedback from residents.[8]

City staff's timeline for the project indicates the new bylaw should be in place by 2016, altering ward boundaries in time for the 2018 election.[9]

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board's attempt to reallocate the ward boundaries for trustees in 2013 also resulted in the decsion to task the 2014–2018 Board with examining ward boundary reform after city council redraws boundaries.[10]

Ranked Ballots

Following the 2014 provincial election, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ted McMeekin, announced the province would be reexamining the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 to determine if the length and voting systems of Ontario's municipal elections needed alterations. Part of the reexamination was a proposal that would have allowed municipalities to adopt a ranked ballot system for the 2018 municipal elections.[11]

In June, 2015, Hamilton's manager of elections, Tony Fallis, commented that the system would confuse electors, while Ward Three councillor Matthew Green called the system a "fantastic opportunity."[12] The following month, Green invited ranked ballot-advocate Dave Meslin to speak in Hamilton on the issue, sparking a call for a citizen's group to promote the proposed electoral system.[13] Mayor Eisenberger spoke favourably about the new system and indicated he was willing to consider it for the 2018 election.[14]

Potential Candidates

On election night, 2014, Ward Six candidate Dan Rodrigues told supporters he would run for the seat again in 2018 as he had been told sitting councillor Tom Jackson would not be running for re-election. Jackson denied that was the case and announced that he, too, would be seeking election in Ward Six in 2018.[15] Rodrigues was later barred from running in 2018 for his failure to submit completed financial statements.

Mid-term elections

Ward Seven Councillor

Shortly after being sworn in for a third term as Ward Seven Councillor, Scott Duvall announced he would be seeking the New Democratic Party's nomination to run in the 42nd Federal Election as their candidate on Hamilton Mountain.[16] Duvall was selected by party members in the riding at a nomination meeting on March 29, 2015 to stand as their candidate over his opponent, former provincial NDP candidate Bryan Adamczyk.[17] Duvall was elected to Parliament on October 19, 2015 with 35.8% of the vote.[18]

Prior to Duvall's election, candidates began expressing interest in running for his seat. By September 4, 2015, four candidates had already announced their intention to run in the by-election if it were to be called.[19] On Friday, October 23, 2015, Duvall officially resigned from city council.[20] Duvall told the Hamilton Spectator that, while he had not yet endorsed a replacement, he was watching the competition carefully.

After speculation that the by-election would occur in February or March of 2016, the CBC reported on November 2, 2015, that the election would take place on March 21, 2016, following council's approval of the date through a bylaw passed at their December 9, 2015 council meeting.[21][22][23]

As the number of candidates increased, local media began to report on the impact the by-election was having on local political party establishments. Candidates Geraldine McMullen and Uzma Qureshi, both NDP members, maintained the support of varying factions within the party. McMullen received support from former Hamilton Mountain MP Chris Charlton while Qureshi was endorsed by current Hamilton Mountain MPP Monique Taylor and Hamilton Centre MP David Christopherson.[24] Similarly, candidates Bob Charters, Donna Skelly, and Hans Zuriel had the support of elements of Hamilton's Conservative establishment. Charters was the Progressive Conservative's candidate on Hamilton Mountain in 2007, Skelly sought election as a Progressive Conservative in Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale in 2011 and 2014, while Zuriel is the president of the Hamilton Mountain Conservative association and heavily involved with Conservative politics at McMaster University.[24] With the registration of former Hamilton Mountain Liberal candidate Shawn Burt on January 29, the local Liberal Party was also split between their 2015 candidate and Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas nomination contestant Howard Rabb.[23][25] The local Libertarian Party establishment was also split between Luc Hetu, the party's nominated, but unregistered, candidate for the 2015 election in Flamborough-Glanbrook and Robert Young, the party's Hamilton Centre candidate. Both candidates registered on February 1 and both used Young's business address at 616 Barton Street East on their registration forms.[26]

In an interview with the Hamilton Mountain News, McMaster political science professor Dr. Henry Jacek noted that he expected voter turnout to be very low, allowing a candidate to win with around 1,500 votes. He also indicated that by his analysis, while the splits in party support were evident, candidates aligned with the New Democrats were likely to perform well considering their historic support in Ward Seven and the popularity of Scott Duvall.[27]

At the close of nominations on February 5, 22 candidates had registered, making the Ward Seven by-election the most contested election in Hamilton's post-amalgamation history.[28]

Just prior to election day, Qureshi faced criticism from local media and other candidates for a letter mailed to the community from Duvall and MPP Monique Taylor that encouraged strategic voting to defeat candidates with ties to the Conservative Party. Taking aim at McMullen, who had secured the endorsement of the city's labour council and from Duvall's predecessor, Chris Charlton, the letter claimed "It is clear that (Qureshi) has risen above the pack and presents the ONLY choice if we are going to elect a strong progressive councillor for Ward 7." [29] The letter was called "disrespectful" by McMullen and mentioned by Skelly on election night, who called it "political interference".[30]

On election night, Donna Skelly secured victory with 1,967 votes, 92 ballots ahead of second place finisher, John-Paul Danko. Speaking with reporters after her win, Skelly noted that she wanted to "ruffle a few feathers" with regard to taxes and city finances, while announcing her support for the city's Light Rail Transit project.[31]

  Candidates for the March 21, 2016 Hamilton, Ontario Ward Seven Councillor By-Election
Candidate Popular vote Expenditures
Votes % ±%
Donna Skelley 1,967 19.59% -
John-Paul Danko 1,875 18.67%
Uzma Qureshi 1,521 15.14%
Shaun Burt 881 8.77%
Doug Farraway 785 7.82%
Geraldine McMullen 720 7.17%
Tom Gordon 468 4.66%
Howard Rabb 376 3.74%
Bob Charters 354 3.52%
Glenn Murphy 255 2.54%
Chelsey Heroux 172 1.71%
Hans Zuriel 133 1.32%
Philip Bradshaw 110 1.10%
Robert Bolton 95 0.95%
Jeanne Pacey 95 0.95%
Louis Vecchioni 64 0.64%
Anthony Nicholl 62 0.62%
Mohammad Shahrouri 48 0.48%
Robert Young 22 0.22%
Paul Nagy 17 0.17%
Damin Starr 17 0.17%
Luc Hetu 6 0.06%
Total votes 10,063 24.35%
Registered voters 41,332
Note: All Hamilton Municipal Elections are officially non-partisan.
Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.)
and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates.
Sources: City of Hamilton, "Nominated Candidates"

Timeline

2014

2015

2016

External links

References

  1. ↑ Government of Ontario, "Municipal Elections Act, 1996", S.O. 1996, Chapter 32.
  2. ↑ Muniscope, "Municipal Elections Schedule in Canada," August 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ City Clerk's Office, City of Hamilton Corporate Services. "Municipal Election Candidates", City of Hamilton (Accessed June 12, 2012)
  4. ↑ Reilly, Emma. "Councillors commit to ward boundary review; Study to conclude in time for 2018 municipal election", Hamilton Spectator, June 26, 2012, News, A1.
  5. ↑ Dreschel, Andrew. "Council tosses ward review forward; Inner city lacks representation, but councillors are willing to wait", Hamilton Spectator, April 11, 2012, Opinion, A15.
  6. ↑ Dreschel, Andrew, "Candidates need position on ward sizes," Hamilton Spectator, August 13, 2014.
  7. ↑ Werner, Kevin, "Hamilton to review ward boundaries," Flamborough Review, April 2, 2015.
  8. ↑ Hamilton Mountain News. "Hamilton ward boundary review meetings set for February," February 5, 2016.
  9. ↑ Fallis Tony and Rose Caterini, "Ward Boundary Review (CM15004) (City Wide)," City of Hamilton General Issues Committee, March 30, 2015.
  10. ↑ Teri Pecoskie, "Board learns lesson, no need for ward change", Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday, December 10, 2013
  11. ↑ Rider, David. "Ontario open to big changes in municipal elections," Hamilton Spectator, April 28, 2015.
  12. ↑ Werner, Kevin, "Ontario’s ranked ballot system will “confuse” Hamilton voters, says manager of elections," Stoney Creek News, June 8, 2015.
  13. ↑ Nolan, Dan, "Ranked ballot voting to be promoted in Hamilton," Hamilton Spectator, July 9, 2015.
  14. ↑ Werner, Kevin, "Mayor Fred Eisenberger supports changes to Hamilton’s voting system," Hamilton Mountain News, March 28, 2015.
  15. ↑ Newman, Mark, "2018 Hamilton council race is on," Hamilton Mountain News, November 6, 2014.
  16. ↑ CBC News. "Scott Duvall to chase federal NDP nomination for Hamilton Mountain," CBC Hamilton, January 5, 2015.
  17. ↑ Werner, Kevin. "Hamilton Mountain federal NDP pick Scott Duvall as their candidate," Hamilton Mountain News, March 29, 2015.
  18. ↑ Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Hamilton Mountain, 30 September 2015
  19. ↑ Newman, Mark. "Hamilton Ward 7 already has four candidates for potential by-election," Hamilton Mountain News, September 9, 2015.
  20. ↑ Carter, Adam. "Duvall officially resigns – so who's running in Ward 7?," CBC Hamilton, October 22, 2015.
  21. ↑ Van Dongen, Matthew. "Byelection looms for Ward 7 residents," Hamilton Spectator, Friday, October 23, 2015, A8.
  22. ↑ CBC News, "It will cost $100K to replace Scott Duvall in a March byelection," CBC Hamilton, November 2, 2015.
  23. 1 2 Peters, Ken. "Everyone has their eye on the prize in Ward 7 by-election," Hamilton Spectator, November 5, 2015.
  24. 1 2 Dreschel, Andrew. "NDP split in Ward 7 by-election," Hamilton Spectator, January 13, 2016, pp. A15.
  25. ↑ Bowes, Gord. "Shawn Bert announces intent to run in Ward 7," Hamilton Mountain News, October 20, 2015.
  26. ↑ Nominated candidates for Ward 7, City of Hamilton, accessed February 2, 2016.
  27. ↑ Newman, Mark. "Hamilton Mountain Ward 7 byelection will be won with modest number of votes," Hamilton Mountain News, January 28, 2016.
  28. 1 2 Van Dongen, Matthew. "Enough already? Twenty-two candidates fighting for Ward 7," Hamilton Spectator, February 6, 2016, pp. A1, A8.
  29. ↑ Craggs, Samantha. "2 NDP politicians urge strategic voting in final hours of Ward 7 campaign," CBC Hamilton March 21, 2016.
  30. ↑ Van Dongen, Matthew and Natalie Paddon, "Ward 7 chooses Skelly," Hamilton Spectator, March 22, 2016, pp. A1 - A6.
  31. ↑ Van Dongen, Matthew and Natalie Paddon, "Ward 7 chooses Skelly," Hamilton Spectator, March 22, 2016, pp. A1 - A6.
  32. ↑ CBC News, "Scott Duvall to chase federal NDP nomination for Hamilton Mountain," CBC Hamilton, January 5, 2015.
  33. ↑ Werner, Kevin, "Hamilton Mountain federal NDP pick Scott Duvall as their candidate," Hamilton Mountain News, March 29, 2015.
  34. ↑ Werner, Kevin, "Hamilton to review ward boundaries," Flamborough Review, April 2, 2015.
  35. ↑ Werner, Kevin, "Hamilton council candidates Toby Yull and Ira Rosen are banned from running in 2018," Dundas Star News, July 28, 2015.
  36. ↑ Van Dongen, Matthew, "Byelection looms for Ward 7 residents," Hamilton Spectator, Friday, October 23, 2015, A8.
  37. ↑ Carter, Adam. "Duvall officially resigns – so who's running in Ward 7?," CBC Hamilton, October 22, 2015.
  38. ↑ CBC News, "It will cost $100K to replace Scott Duvall in a March byelection," CBC Hamilton, November 2, 2015.
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