Hamilton’s municipal election will be held on Oct. 26, 2026, and 11 candidates are registered to run for Ward 10 City Councillor (Stoney Creek–Fruitland–Winona): Cal DiFalco, Eugene Farago, Olivia Fung, Sam Gamble, Akash Grewal, Michael Loomans, Ivan Luksic, Tanjoban Nijjar, Larry Paletta, Vince Rigitano, and Nicole Trombetta.
Incumbent Councillor Jeff Beattie was set to run again for Council but left the race after becoming the Ontario PC Party candidate in a by-election in Hamilton East–Stoney Creek due to the retirement of Member of Provincial Parliament Neil Lumsden.
Beattie was elected as the new Member of Provincial Parliament.
CAL DIFALCO
Campaign Email: cal@difalco.info
Campaign Website: www.votecal.ca
Cal DiFalco spent his career as a senior executive with the Ontario Public Service. He served as Ontario’s Director of Health Care Implementation.
His website says he has lived in Ward 10 for 38 years with his wife Teresa.
In 2009, he founded and published The Hamiltonian, a local independent source for news.
His website adds that he is a long-time Winona Peach Festival volunteer and supporter of BrightRun, Juravinski Cancer Centre’s breast cancer fundraiser.
He lists his top three priorities as fiscal responsibility and protection of tax dollars, safe and healthy communities, and responsible growth.
EUGENE FARAGO
Campaign Email: voteeugenefarago@gmail.com
Campaign Website: Not Available at Publish Date
The Hamilton Independent was unable to confirm the identity of the candidate.
OLIVIA FUNG
Campaign Email: oliviafungward10@gmail.com
Campaign Website: www.oliviafung.ca
Olivia Fung calls herself an entrepreneur and community builder. It is unclear how long she has lived in the ward.
She is the Founder and Executive Director of Solid Rock Family Services and a Transformational Leadership and Resilience Coach with You Inspire Me Women Enterprise.
She was also the former Director of Global Strategic Partnerships for the Canadian Congress on Inclusive Diversity and Workplace Equity and an Emergency Teaching Assistant with the Peel District School Board.
SAM GAMBLE
Campaign Email: samgamble273@gmail.com
Campaign Website: Not Available at Publish Date
Sam Gamble’s Facebook page says he is an educator, journeyman, and volunteer firefighter focused on safety, accountability, and affordability.
AKASH GREWAL
Campaign Email: voteakash2026@gmail.com
Campaign Website: www.voteakash.ca
Akash Grewal is a Licensed Mortgage Broker with Dominion Lending Centres and has worked over 10 years in various roles in the financial services industry.
In 2018, at the age of 24, he won a nomination contest to become the Ontario PC Party candidate for Hamilton East–Stoney Creek.
He ran in the 2018 election and placed second with 28.81 per cent of the vote. Ontario NDP candidate Paul Miller won with 51.15 per cent.
Grewal graduated Orchard Park Secondary School and has a Bachelor of Arts from Brock University.
His priorities are financial accountability, improved infrastructure, and community safety.
MICHAEL LOOMANS
Campaign Email: mtloomans@gmail.com
Campaign Website: www.michael-loomans.com
Michael Loomans’ job history is unclear.
He says that his main priorities are development, infrastructure, and public transit and that he is against AI data centres.
IVAN LUKSIC
Campaign Email: info@voteivan.ca
Campaign Website: Not Available at Publish Date
Ivan Luksic is an employment lawyer and labour relations professional who is also a professor at Conestoga College in Kitchener.
He is also heavily involved with Croatian community groups.
Luksic was the Ontario Liberal Party candidate in Hamilton East–Stoney Creek in the 2014 election under leader Kathleen Wynne, finishing second with 29.16 per cent of the vote behind NDP candidate Paul Miller’s 46.81 per cent.
TANJOBAN NIJJAR
Campaign Email: jobannijjar01@gmail.com
Campaign Website: www.votenijjar.ca
Tanjoban Nijjar is the owner of a local small business called Sleep and Dream and is a certified nutritionist and fitness coach. He graduated from the University of Waterloo in Business and Legal Studies.
His priorities are keeping property taxes in check, smart development, fixing roads, and connecting young people to opportunity.
LARRY PALETTA
Campaign Email: votelarryp@gmail.com
Campaign Website: www.votelarryp.com
Larry Paletta is a Realtor with RE/MAX Escarpment Realty. His social media says that he wants to make City Hall “accountable with your tax dollars.”
VINCE RIGITANO
Campaign Email: vincenzorigitano@outlook.com
Campaign Website: www.vincerigitano.ca
Vince Rigitano was born in Italy and came to Canada in the 1970s. His website says he started his family in Stoney Creek 41 years ago and that he built a career as a Plant Manager.
He is also a marathon runner, part-time actor, soccer referee and coach, and longtime member of the Knights of Columbus and Sons and Daughters of Italy.
His priorities are safer communities, better roads and infrastructure, quality of life for families, and resisting strong mayor powers.
NICOLE TROMBETTA
Campaign Email: nicoletrombettaward10@gmail.com
Campaign Website: www.nicoletrombetta.com
Nicole Trombetta was born and raised in Hamilton and is now raising her family in the city.
She’s a Business Development Strategist and entrepreneur with a background in legal services and has built her own small bakery business, coordinated major special events, and has navigated tribunals.
She is the co-founder of Downtown Stoney Creek’s Boots in the Creek Country Music Festival.
Her website says that she is running “to keep your taxes honest, fix our roads, and keep every street in Lower Stoney Creek, Fruitland, and Winona safe.
ELECTORAL HISTORY
2010 Election: Maria Pearson won with 63.85 per cent of the vote (5,464 votes), with Bernard Josipovic second.
2014 Election: Maria Pearson won with 58.03 per cent of the vote (4,090 votes), with Teresa DiFalco second with 33.91 per cent (2,390 votes).
2018 Election: Maria Pearson won with 36.34 per cent of the vote (3,988 votes), with Louie Milojevic second with 27.25 per cent (2,990) and Jeff Beattie third with 24.53 per cent (2,692).
2022 Election: Jeff Beattie won with 39.69 per cent of the vote (4,236 votes), with Louie Milojevic second with 32.30 per cent (3,436) and Maria Pearson third with 28.11 per cent (3,000).
WARD DESCRIPTION
As of the 2021 census, the ward had 39,205 residents.
Ward 10 is Stoney Creek–Fruitland–Winona and includes neighbourhoods such as Community Beach, Cherry Heights, Fruitland, Winona, and Winona Park.
It is bordered by Lake Ontario to the north, the Escarpment to the south, the Gray Road to the west, and the Hamilton/Niagara Region border just past Fifty Road to the east.
Ward 10 is home to Winona Park, Sherwood Park, the E.D. Smith Manufacturing Facility, and Fifty Point Conservation Area.
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.
