Hamilton will see a number of new councillors come October 24, including in Wards 11, 12, 14 and 15. Ward 13 Councillor Arlene Vanderbeek (pictured) is the only incumbent seeking re-election in the city’s ‘rural’ wards. Photo credit: Arlene Vanderbeek
Ward 11
Ward 11, which comprises of the municipality of Glanbrook, including Mount Hope and Binbrook, has seen incumbent Councillor Brenda Johnson step away from the role. Four candidates are seeking her place (alphabetical by last name): Nick Lauwers, Terri Moffett, Nick Pellegrino, and Mark Tadeson.
Lauwers’s priorities include keeping property taxes low, increasing police presence for safety, and building new schools to accommodate all Mount Hope and Binbrook children, according to his website. Lauwers’s is endorsed by Flamborough-Glanbrook Conservative Member of Parliament Dan Muys.
Pellegrino is a City of Hamilton employee. He says he supports free transit during off-peak hours and wants busses to serve areas like Binbrook. He does not appear to have a website.
Moffett drives for Canada Post and focuses on issues like affordability. She does not appear to have a website.
Tadeson has said that Hamilton’s urban boundary may need to expand at some point to accommodate residential development, despite City Council voting not to expand the boundary. He also said in an IELECT Hamilton survey that he would “initiate Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion training for all city staff.” Similar lines are included on his website.
Ward 12
Ward 12, which comprises of Ancaster and West Flamborough, has seen incumbent Councillor Lloyd Ferguson step away from the role. Ten candidates are seeking his place (alphabetical by last name): Chuck Alkerton, Robert Baboth, Craig Cassar, Richard Deverson, Karl Hanley, William Robert Hume, Cindy Kaye, Megg Markettos, Bob Maton, and Pamela Mitchell.
A number of candidates are rather high-profile. Alkerton has been endorsed by current Councillor Lloyd Ferguson.
Cassar is a local environmentalist who was active in the campaign against urban boundary expansion. He is endorsed by the Hamilton and District Labour Council.
Hanley is a businessperson who is president of the Ancaster chapter of the Rotary Club. He is endorsed by Flamborough-Glanbrook Conservative Member of Parliament Dan Muys.
Hume served as Flamborough councillor prior to amalgamation in 2000.
Kaye has four key points on her website: protecting Ancaster’s heritage, effective representation, family-friendly neighbourhoods, and effective city planning.
Maton is a heritage advocate who has formerly run for trustee.
Ward 13
Ward 13 is the Dundas ward and sees incumbent Councillor Arlene Vanderbeek facing only one candidate: Alex Wilson. Wilson works for Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas MPP Sandy Shaw.
Wilson wants “real action on the climate crisis”, “free transit”, and to “address hate and promote equity.”
Ward 14
Ward 14, the West Mountain ward, has seen incumbent Councillor Terry Whitehead step away from the role. Seven candidates are seeking to take his place (alphabetical by last name): Kojo Damptey, Brian Lewis, Christopher Poole, Don Ross, Mike Spadafora, Christine Seketa, and Colleen Wicken.
Damptey is endorsed by the Hamilton and District Labour Council. He not only wants to defund the police, but has posted numerous times on social media that the police should be abolished and has taken part in numerous protests to that effect.
Lewis is endorsed by CUPE Local 5167. His website states that, although there is room for improvement, he supports Hamilton Police.
“We as a community need to look at ways of building bridges, not continually blowing them up.”
Spadafora is a small business owner in the ward and was the 2022 candidate for the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in the Hamilton Mountain riding.
Ross served on Hamilton City Council from 1985 until 1997 before amalgamation and is a former real estate broker. His website states that “reducing taxes is top of the list.”
Wicken is a former constituency worker for Terry Whitehead. She left his office in 2018 and later filed a Human Rights Complaint against him.
Ward 15
Ward 15 includes East Flamborough and Waterdown. Councillor Judi Partridge is not seeking re-election. Five candidates are seeking her place (alphabetical by last name): Zobia Jawed, Robert Kunysz, Ted McMeekin, Chris Pera, and Sumaira Waqar.
Jawed is endorsed by Flamborough-Glanbrook Conservative Member of Parliament Dan Muys. She has been involved with Waterdown’s Healthy Youth Network, Conservation Halton, the Children’s Aid Society of Hamilton, and the Canadian-Pakistani Business Association. She is also a part of the faculty of engineering at McMaster University.
McMeekin was an Ontario Liberal MPP for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot and served the area from 2000-2018. He supported Kathleen Wynne for Ontario Liberal leader in 2013 and later served in Wynne’s cabinet. He’s now seeking a City Council seat. Despite losing to the NDP’s Sandy Shaw in 2018, McMeekin’s old website is still active and continues to state that he is the MPP for the area. He has no website for his Council campaign. While he now lives in Dundas, outside of the ward, he previously lived in Ward 15.
Election day is Monday, October 24 and polls are open from 10AM-8PM. To find out your closest location click here.
Note that the author of this article, Kevin Geenen, is running for Ward 5 City Council Hamilton (Gray Rd to Red Hill Parkway plus the Beach Strip). Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Kevin Geenen reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on social media. He is a regular contributor with The Hamilton Independent and has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. He is known for Hamilton Neighbourhood Watch crime updates and no-nonsense news graphics. 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 from Governor General David Johnston. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. He currently works as a journalistic writer and office administrator.
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.
