A student-focused summary of the city’s mayoral and Ward 1 city counsellor candidates and thier platforms
As the municipal election races come to a close, students should remember that not only are they eligible to vote, but also that their voices matter in this election. Student are able to cast votes for city the mayor of Hamilton, city councillors and school board trustees.
For more in-depth discussions on each of the mayoral candidates, you can check out the candidate profiles posted on the Silhouette website.
Mayoral candidates
In June 2022, Hamilton’s current mayor, Fred Eisenberger, announced he would not be running for reelection. In the weeks leading up to the election, the Silhouette sat down with several of these candidates to discuss their platforms, their reasons for running, and their perspectives on why the student vote matters.
Bob Bratina has had a long political career, as Ward 2 city councillor from 2004 to 2010, mayor of Hamilton from 2010 to 2014 and Liberal member of parliament from 2015 to 2021. He is concerned about affordable housing, financial transparency regarding the LRT project and increased security.
Ejaz Butt is a community activist, an Uber driver, and the founder of the Ontario Taxi Workers Union. Butt explained to the Silhouette that his 20-point campaign agenda was compiled based on feedback from Hamilton residents. This agenda particularly highlights the housing crisis and the affordability of living in Hamilton.
Jim Davis detailed his platform on Facebook page Vote Jim Davis 4 Mayor of Hamilton, the same platform that he ran on in his first mayoral campaign in 2018. Davis aims to prioritize city-run programs, such as daycare and recreation and housing initiatives.
Andrea Horwath served as Hamilton’s Ward 2 city councillor from 1997 to 2004 and as the leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party from 2009 to 2022. Horwath plans on prioritizing public transportation, environmental protection and rebuilding trust between city hall and the public.
Solomon Ikhuiwu is a trained paralegal, evangelical preacher and author who wants to prioritize unifying the city and addressing the housing crisis. Ikhuiwu has worked with unhoused communities in Hamilton throughout his career and is critical of the current state of the shelter system.
Hermiz Ishaya decided to run for mayor to set an example for young people and highlight the importance of youth involvement in politics. Ishaya told the Silhouette that he is particularly concerned about the housing crisis, as well as the city’s infrastructure and roads.
Keanin Loomis, former president and CEO of Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, highlighted building a trustworthy and responsive City Hall, fostering economic growth and making Hamilton a safer and cleaner city as his main goals.
Michael Pattison, who previously ran for mayor in 2014 and 2018, is running in this election on a platform that prioritizes the housing crisis, affordable mental health initiatives, transparency in city spending and food insecurity.
City councillor candidates
Along with voting for Hamilton’s mayor, Hamilton residents will also be voting for city councillors. The majority of McMaster students reside in Ward 1, which has three candidates competing for the seat.
Ian MacPherson founded the Canadian Association of Pompe, an organization that lobbies the government to fund new treatments for Pompe. MacPherson’s priorities include environmental sustainability, road safety and addressing the housing crisis.
John Vail is a small business owner who has previously run for both city councillor and for the provincial Hamilton City Centre seat. His priorities include building transparency in city council, avoiding over-intensification and collaborating with the community.
Maureen Wilson was elected as Ward 1 city councillor in 2018 and is running again in this election. Her platform highlights key areas of priority, such as ensuring safer streets, addressing the housing crisis and investing in public spaces.
McMaster students are eligible to vote on election day, October 24, provided they have government-issued identification and proof of residency in Hamilton. More information on where to vote on election day can be found here.
With one week left before the municipal election, the MSU hosted a mayoral debate to inform students on their voting options
On Oct. 17 the MSU held a mayoral debate from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the MUSC Atrium. Four mayoral candidates including Michael Pattinson, Ejaz Butt, Keanin Loomis and Solomon Ikhuiwu were present, with the five remaining mayoral candidates not in attendance. The debate was livestreamed and a recording of the debate can be found on the MSU Facebook page.
Candidates were allowed three-minute opening remarks and followed by a structured debate facilitated by MSU President Simranjeet Singh. Singh posed candidates questions on important issues in the election revolving around affordable housing, climate change, policing, public transportation and Hamilton’s new nuisance party bylaw.
All candidates in attendance were in support of the LRT and increasing support to ancillary services, including mental health resources and homeless shelters. When asked about policing, candidates debated the balance between supporting thin spread police resources in Waterdown and Ancaster and the discrimination minorities in Hamilton continue to experience.
Concerning safe, affordable housing, Loomis discussed his plan to build 50,000 homes in the next ten years by clearing red tape in city hall. He was challenged by Pattinson, who argued it is not enough to say red tape in city hall will be tackled. He claimed that 20,000 homes that had already been approved were not in progress yet and that the key to creating new housing was to ensure developers were not allowed to sit on purchased land after site approval.
When asked about how to tackle climate change in Hamilton there were also differing solutions. Loomis emphasized investing in green energy in a shift from Hamilton’s reputation as a steel town, whereas Pattinson focused on green, accessible public transportation in order to attract residents to Hamilton’s natural ecosystems.
In the closing statements, all candidates thanked students for attending the debate and Ikhuiwu urged students to carefully research candidates and exercise their right to vote. Loomis emphasized that the candidates he claimed were his main competitors, Bob Bratina and Andrea Horwath, were not present for the debate held on McMaster University’s campus.
On Oct. 18 an on-demand ballot was held in CIBC Hall from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. for voters across all Hamilton wards. Canadian citizens living in Hamilton over the age of 18 were to vote in the municipal election so long as they were able to provide proof of residence.
If voters missed the Oct. 18 on-demand ballot, polls will be open to Ward 1 citizens at Glenwood Special Day School on Oct. 24 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m among other locations. For more information on candidate profiles see the Silhouette’s for the municipal election series and to learn how you can vote visit www.msumcmaster.ca/macvotes.
C/O Michael Pattison
Pattison has built his campaign on affordability, transparency and food insecurity
The Silhouette sat down with mayoral candidate Michael Pattison to reflect on his current campaign and the most pressing issues for the upcoming election.
Pattison is running as a mayoral candidate for the third time in his political career, having previously campaigned for the position in 2014 and 2018. He is running again this term to address issues involving affordability, transparency and food insecurity in the municipal government.
Affordability is the biggest point of Pattison’s platform. He discussed the importance of funding mental health initiatives as a key part of his affordability plan.
“The worse that our mental health slides down and the harder that finances get on people, I believe [that] is one of the biggest precursors for mental health [challenges]. When you are terrified of losing your home, not being able to eat or not being able to pay your bills — these things weigh on people so heavily on a common scale. Whether it is through more therapy or having different social meeting groups, [mental health initiatives] can help the overall city of Hamilton as a whole,” said Pattison.
As another key aspect of affordability, Pattison highlighted the importance of addressing the housing crisis in Hamilton.
“From a city perspective, my number one thing is: winter is coming. We have to have safe, secure spots for those that are homeless or are becoming homeless or we're going to then have a death issue on our hands,” said Pattison.
From a city perspective, my number one thing is: winter is coming. We have to have safe, secure spots for those that are homeless or are becoming homeless or we're going to then have a death issue on our hands.
Michael Pattison, Hamilton Mayoral Candidate
Pattison also advocated for transparency in city spending. Discussing the allocation of funds from residential taxes, Pattison claimed the largest allocation is towards an unknown department listed as “other” in the 2021 tax distribution report.
“When you go through the city budgets, they give you an average residential tax rate and they break it down by department. And if you were to look, you'll see where social services comes in, you'll see where education comes in, policing, and things like that, but yet the largest piece of the pie is just listed as ‘other’. And after going through line by line of our overall budget, I am yet to figure out what the ‘other’ is,” said Pattison.
However, the City of Hamilton’s annual tax dollar distribution chart only mentions “other” for other city services. After reaching out to city hall, other city services was explained to encompass the capital levy, where tax dollars are used to finance capital projects for all city programs and services, as well as smaller dollar value city services. Additionally, policing services were found to be the largest allocation, followed by education services, and then other city services.
The third main issue in Pattison’s platform is the importance of food security for Hamiltonians, similar to his platform in 2018, due to increased rates of food insecurity across Hamilton.
“We're going to come into a food crunch. I believe that this winter is going to be a very unfulfilling time for people . . . We've done nothing as a city to work on our food security issues. Even dealing with local farmers, we haven't put anything in place. We haven't helped them with green housing, we haven't done anything to come up with a local supply of guaranteed food,” said Pattison.
When asked about the potential challenges of mayorship, Pattison foresaw the learning curve that comes with the position as the biggest hurdle.
“A mayor basically has three distinct roles and mastering those three roles is something that I'm game for. I have the ability to maintain all three levels: within city council, you're basically a moderator; within the city executive, you're the CEO and in the public, you need to be a role model. So, trying to master those three, coming from just a blue-collar background that was just born and raised in this city,” said Pattison.
Addressing the McMaster University community, Pattison wanted students to become more engaged with the election and municipal government.
“I believe that you're our future leaders. And you know, it's the choices that are made today that set up tomorrow. You guys are the future and you need to be involved now. If you're not involved now, then you're going to let old coots make all the decisions; they're going to be detrimental. Whereas the fresh new ideas, the fresh new perspectives on life, give me different perspectives that we don't see in our lifetime,” said Pattison.
I believe that you're our future leaders. And you know, it's the choices that are made today that set up tomorrow. You guys are the future and you need to be involved now. If you're not involved now, then you're going to let old coots make all the decisions; they're going to be detrimental.
Michael Pattison, Hamilton Mayoral Candidate
Michael Pattison is running for mayor in the Oct. 2022 municipal election. His candidate profile has be posted as part of a series the Silhouette is running to build student awareness about the municipal election. Candidate profiles will continue to be posted in alphabetical order over the next few weeks. Election Day is Oct. 24 and more details on how to vote can be found here.
