Five-term incumbent Maria Pearson faces two familiar foes from 2018. Photo credit: CBC/Samantha Craggs
The Ward 10 Cable 14 debate took place on September 20. A replay of the discussion can be watched via YouTube. Incumbent Councillor Maria Pearson is facing the same two candidates as in 2018, only this time the absence of a fourth candidate means the vote is not split as much.
Ward 10 includes the eastern portion of Lower Stoney Creek, Fruitland, and Winona. The ward runs north-south from Lake Ontario to the Niagara Escarpment and east-west from the Hamilton-Niagara border to Grays Road.
2022 Candidates (Alphabetical by Last Name)
BEATTIE, Jeff – Present at Debate
MILOJEVIC, Louie – Present at Debate
PEARSON, Maria – Present at Debate
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.
Jeff Beattie was first to speak, saying that this election “is about track records.” He claimed that he is the “most accessible and approachable candidate” and that his involvement with the Peach Festival, Orchard Park High School Robotics Team, and experience as Ward 10 public school board trustee from 2014-2018 make him up to the task.
“The status quo is letting us down,” he continued.
Milojevic used his opening to say that because incumbent councillors have “politics as their livelihoods” they would “do anything to keep their positions.” He mentioned the Chedoke Creek Sewage leak and Red Hill Parkway Inquiry as key examples.
Milojevic used to be a reporter for the Stoney Creek News before becoming a history professor.
Incumbent Councillor Pearson touted infrastructure updates in the ward that took place over the past four years such as traffic calming and road repaving.
“Helping people is what I do best,” she said.
When talk turned to development, a key issue in the Winona area where large residential buildings have been proposed at a number of different sites, Milojevic said that “development for development’s sake” is not sustainable.
Beattie noted that it seems Pearson is being reactive rather than proactive in that infrastructure improvements need to come before high-density residential developments are built rather than after.
Pearson contended that infrastructure does come when there is an increase in population, but those changes inevitably happen after developments are built due to issues such as tax revenue and due process.
“Development builds infrastructure,” she asserted.
She said that a lot of community amenities like parks and road renewals are coming once development comes through.
“There is planning on what will be coming forward and seventy-seven million dollars in future improvements in the works.”
She mentioned new stop lights that have gone up, red light cameras, speed boards, and cycling lanes that have gone up, with more to come.
“It’s an ever-moving situation,” she explained.
But Beattie also remarked that even with improvements to infrastructure, some proposals are for “six times the density or more than existing neighbourhoods” which are too dense.
Beattie also said that people have been asking for specific things for over six years, but that Pearson is not listening.
Pearson contended that there “are initiatives for numerous streets in Ward 10” but that each one comes with a cost and “not everyone wants the same thing.”
“We need to work with all of the neighbourhood,” not just implement every traffic light or calming measure that someone proposes.
Conversation then turned to the police with Milojevic claiming that most crimes in Winona area are “crimes of opportunity.”
“People get off of the QEW, strike, run, and get away with it,” he said.
“I definitely wouldn’t defund the police,” Milojevic continued.
Pearson agreed with Milojevic, adding that she would also never support defunding the police and would instead “support putting more police on,” although she noted that there are budget constraints.
The candidates then discussed term limits for councillors. Beattie said that he supports term limits and that if he wins the Ward 10 election he will not stay on for more than three terms (twelve years) as councillor.
Milojevic said that he supports a two-term limit but did not say whether he would adhere to one if elected.
Meanwhile Pearson called term limits “an insult to the democratic process.”
“No other career has a term limit. Voters go to the polls every four years and make their decision,” she continued.
Election day is Monday, October 24 and polls are open from 10AM-8PM at 11 locations across Ward 10. To find out your closest location click here.
2018 Election Results
Maria Pearson – 3,988 – 36.34% (Elected)
Louie Milojevic – 2,990 – 27.25%
Jeff Beattie – 2,692 – 24.53%
Ian Thompson – 1,304 – 11.88%
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.
