Hamilton City Councillor Alex Wilson announced via his Substack newsletter on May 1 that he will not be running for re-election in this October’s municipal race.
Wilson, 29, has only served as a councillor for one term, having been elected in 2022.
He represents Ward 13 – Dundas-Central Flamborough, having beat out incumbent Arlene VanderBeek in a head-to-head face off in 2022.
Wilson earned 7,038 votes (57.94 per cent) compared to VanderBeek’s 5,110 votes (42.06 per cent).
Wilson, who formerly worked for Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas NDP Member of Provincial Parliament Sandy Shaw, was an ally of Councillor Cameron Kroetsch (Ward 2 – Downtown Hamilton) on Council.
The two Councillors often voted in tandem, including voting in favour of Kroesch’s 2025 motion to defund the police by rejecting the 5.7 per cent police budget increase and instead giving zero new funding.
At least a 4.2 per cent increase was needed to maintain existing police services such as paying employees according to collective agreements.
That motion was defeated on a 2-14 vote, with Kroetsch and Wilson the only supporters.
During his term, Wilson voted in favour of restrictions on short-term rentals, the city’s new hire COVID vaccination mandate, the 2023 property tax increase (5.85 per cent), the rain tax stormwater fee, the Encampment Protocol, the Vacant Unit Tax, the 2024 property tax increase (5.79 per cent), the Barton-Tiffany tiny shelter project, and the city poet program.
So far, Wilson is the only incumbent Councillor who has announced that they will not be seeking re-election.
However, at least one other ward is without an incumbent since Councillor Rob Cooper (Ward 8 – West/Central Mountain) is running for mayor.
It is somewhat unclear exactly why Wilson is stepping away after only one term and whether or not he has another job lined up.
In the letter announcing his decision, Wilson says that he is “incredibly proud” of the work he has accomplished.
He notes that he is particularly proud of “meaningful action” taken “on the climate and housing crises impacting our communities.”
Wilson says that he was one of two renters on Council over the past term.
The outgoing Councillor also wrote, “The introduction of Strong Mayor powers, the forced amalgamation of conservation authorities, the changes being made to school board governance, and a near constant tweaking of provincial planning law have all moved local decision-making away from communities and towards less transparent and less accountable processes. I do this work because I want to solve problems, not because I want to point fingers.”
Wilson also called for the provincial and federal governments to give more funding to municipalities.
“As more and more municipalities experience infrastructure renewal costs beyond what property taxpayers can afford, we need direct federal and provincial investment into the infrastructure Canadians rely on every day,” he concluded.
So far, two candidates have registered to replace Wilson.
Local educator Rick Kunc will be running, as will Loren Lieberman, the former co-host of the O Show on Cable 14 and the former director of the Festival of Friends.
Kunc’s campaign website can be viewed here, while Lieberman’s is available here.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
