The by-election will be held on Jan. 6. Pictured: Candidate Abby Zaitley. Photo Credit: Abby Zaitley Campaign Website.
Abby Zaitley, who is running to be the next trustee for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) in Ward 4 (East Hamilton), recently campaigned with controversial Member of Provincial Parliament Sarah Jama and President of CUPE Ontario Fred Hahn, who’s own union called on him to resign.
Zaitley appears to be running an organized campaign, with her Instagram profile showing her campaigning door-to-door, putting up signs, and handing out campaign literature.
Her campaign website can be found at www.abbyzaitley.ca.
Jama has faced controversy multiple times and was kicked out of the Ontario NDP party after multiple different posts on social media put her at odds with the party, including a post in which a convicted terrorist and member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad was called “a martyr of freedom.”
Hahn has made similar posts.
Jama has also attended multiple “abolish the police” rallies and has said that the police should be disarmed, abolished, and dismantled.
Zaitley posted the photo campaigning with Jama and Hahn just a few weeks ago on Nov. 2, 2024.
Also running in the field of eight candidates in the Jan. 6 by-election is former Ward 3 trustee Larry Pattison, who appears to be endorsed by outgoing Ward 4 trustee Ray Mulholland, according to a post on X.
Pattison served as trustee from 2014 to 2018, opted not to run in 2018, and then ran again in 2022, losing out to Maria Felix Miller with 25.62 per cent of the vote.
He is a fibre network administrator at Cogeco and his website states that he will “lead without judgment and respect your faith-based and personal health choices.”
He also told The Hamilton Spectator in 2022 that parents’ voices must be heard on “sensitive topics” and that anti-racism policies “and curricula that cause division and distrust” should be reviewed.
His campaign website can be found at www.ward4forward.com.
The Hamilton Independent has also compiled a full candidate overview in advance of the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board’s trustee by-election in Ward 4.
The remaining six candidates, in alphabetical order by last name, are:
ALISON BAILEY
Bailey’s campaign website can be found here.
One part of her website takes aim at Doug Ford and the Ontario PC Party.
AMY COWLING
Cowling does not appear to have a campaign website.
She says that she has six children, five of whom are currently attending a HWDSB school.
She ran for trustee in Ward 7 in the 2022 Municipal Election and placed second with 30.29 per cent of the vote. Dawn Danko won the election with 56.11 per cent.
During the 2022 race she was endorsed by social conservative organization Campaign Life Coalition, stating in their survey that “parents, not the state, have the inherent right of primacy in education of children.”
PAUL JAYE
Jaye’s campaign website can be found here.
His LinkedIn profile states that he is a “user research and insights leader” who has worked at Google, Amazon, and Microsoft.
His website states that at each of those companies he has championed “diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.”
He is endorsed by the Hamilton Jewish Federation.
AMANDA NEALE-ROBINSON
Neale-Robinson’s campaign website can be found here.
At a town hall, she said that “safe spaces are essential for fostering creative resilience.”
MARIAM SULIMANKHIL
Sulimankhil does not appear to have a website, but her LinkedIn profile indicates that she has worked at a number of personal injury law firms and as a Human Resources Manager at Ashwood Glen Private School in Burlington.
JORDAN WILLIAMS
Williams’ campaign website can be found here.
His website states that he hopes to bring “blue collar leadership” and that he has “consistently championed programs that honour cultural heritage, advance equity, and create inclusive opportunities for all students.”
VOTING INFORMATION
A previous article from The Hamilton Independent details voting information, including how the by-election will feature online voting for the first time.
That article can be found 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.
