The two-person race is one of the more compelling contests of the 2022 municipal election in Hamilton, with incumbent Esther Pauls (left) squaring off against experienced challenger in former councillor and MP Scott Duvall (right). Photo credit: Facebook/Esther Pauls and Scott Duvall
The Ward 7 Cable 14 debate took place on September 16. A replay of the debate can be watched via YouTube. Incumbent Councillor Esther Pauls is in a one-on-one battle with former Ward 7 city councillor and NDP Member of Parliament Scott Duvall.
Ward 7 runs north-south from the Escarpment to the hydro corridor just south of Rymal Road. The western boundary is Upper Wellington Street, while the eastern border is Upper Gage Road from the Escarpment to the LINC before shifting slightly west to Upper Sherman.
The ward is home to Limeridge Mall, Sam Lawrence Park, and the Juravinski Cancer Centre.
2022 Candidates (Alphabetical by Last Name)
DUVALL, Scott – Present at Debate
PAULS, Esther – Present at Debate
Election day is Monday, October 24 and polls are open from 10AM-8PM at 11 locations across Ward 7. To find out your closest location click here.
The debate consisted of a two-minute opening statement from each candidate, questions from local media, and then an open forum period for candidates to ask each other questions.
Duvall used his opening statement to tout his accomplishments as city councillor for Ward 7 from 2006-2015. In 2015 he was elected Member of Parliament for Hamilton Mountain. He retired from his MP position in 2021 to spend more time with family, so it was a bit of a surprise for political pundits when he decided to run for City Council once again.
Duvall explained that he “hoped that the change of Councillor in Ward 7 would bring about new and maybe better ideas, but that was not what I saw when I returned home full-time.”
He added that Council has become “dysfunctional and antagonistic.”
Regarding the decision to freeze the urban boundary expansion, thereby requiring increased density to address the increasing Hamilton population Duvall said that Council has to “intensify the whole city”, not just the downtown.
“Everybody has to do their fair share, including Ancaster,” he continued.
Duvall also spoke about bus service on the Mountain, asking Pauls why there has not been much improvement in routes and wait times.
Pauls countered that the pandemic drastically changed ridership levels and that, even post-pandemic, there remain uncertainties about how much transit ridership will recover due to factors such as increased working from home.
When the candidates spoke of traffic safety, Duvall said that police need to step up enforcement “and we also have to have public sanity.”
“When are people going to smarten up about driving recklessly?”, he asked.
The candidates also discussed the tearing down of the Sir John A Macdonald statue at Gore Park by protestors during the last Council term.
Interestingly, despite the NDP’s position on the matter, Duvall said that the statue is “part of history” and that he believes “it belongs.”
He called the tearing down of the statue “reckless.”
Likewise, Pauls said that nobody is perfect and “we all fall short”. She called for civil discussion and said that people should “learn from history” rather than destroy it.
Topic then turned to the City of Hamilton’s vaccine mandate for City employees, which was in place for much of the pandemic. At multiple points throughout the past year unvaccinated employees were even set to be permanently fired by the City, a decision that was ultimately reversed in large part due to Pauls’ advocacy.
Once again, Duvall differed from the NDP stance on the issue, saying that “we have to respect the people that do not want it.”
“Nobody should be fired over this. I am a union guy,” he added.
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.
