By: Maanvi Dhillon
Voter turnout in the 2019 McMaster Students Union presidential election fell 1.2 per cent from last year, marking the lowest rate since 2012.
Just two years ago, voter turnout sat at 41.6 per cent and saw 9,327 student voters.
“The voter turnout rate continues the impressive upward trend in McMaster student voter turnout, and marks five consecutive years with more than 40 per cent of students voting in the MSU Presidential election,” reads a statement on the MSU website from 2017.
This ‘upward trend’ did not continue the following year. In particular, the 2018 election saw voter turnout fall 13.6 points.
Following last year’s election, the MSU elections department promptly investigated the sharp decline in voter turnout.
After finding no issues with the voting software, Simply Voting, low turnout was estimated to have been caused by students opting out of receiving elections emails.
“Students who voluntarily opted-out of emails from the MSU’s election software provider, as per Canadian anti-spam legislation, did not receive future emails,” said Uwais Patel, the MSU’s chief returning officer.
Patel pointed out that this did not necessarily prevent students from voting in the election as they could have received a ballot if requested. However, it still likely would have reduced their likelihood of voting.
Low voter turnout is a serious concern given the role and position of the MSU president, who Patel describes as “an important representative who will help shape the student experience for years to come.”
As a result of the change, in this year’s election, students were able to
access their online ballot with their Mac ID instead of email.
Students were also enabled to use a general link and log in with their McMaster login information, eliminating the necessity of email for access and making the process fit more naturally with other online McMaster activity, like accessing Mosaic or Avenue to Learn.
For these reasons, Patel believed the transition would make “voting more accessible and the process of voting more reliable.”
Before the election, Patel was confident that the MSU Elections’ lineup of strategies would give students access to the details they need to easily vote.
“Using resources and technology, we are maximizing the way we deliver… information,” said Patel. “By voting and engaging with the election this year, students can be confident in who they elect as MSU President to represent them on issues pertaining to student life and advocacy,” said Patel.
In effort to increase voter turnout, the elections department also released an instructional video showing how to vote.
They also asked committee members and MSU Maroons to promote the election on campus and encourage students to vote.
However, this year’s drop in voter turnout suggests that the new voting system and array of promotional efforts did not sufficiently improve the turnout rate.
This year’s notably low voter turnout casts doubt over the new MSU president’s capacity to ‘represent’ McMaster’s nearly 30,000 undergraduates when only 6,576 voted in the election.
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CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, there was a graphic that indicated that Josh Marando answered that he "strongly agreed" with the police presence on campus. However, in our survey, Marando answered that he "strongly disagreed" with the police presence on campus. We apologize for this misconstruction and have changed the graphic since.
The Silhouette recently surveyed the four McMaster Students’ Union 2019 presidential candidates on their opinions on where the MSU and the university are doing well and where they can improve.
The survey consisted of seven statements. Candidates were asked to indicate their level of agreement with each statement on a scale from “strongly agree” to “disagree.”
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="197" gal_title="2019 Presidentials Survey Results 1"]
The first question asked candidates about their opinions on the statement that “The MSU is committed to equality and inclusiveness.”
The candidates all agreed on the MSU’s commitment to equality and inclusiveness. Jeffrey Campana and Madison Wesley indicated they “strongly agreed” with the statements, whereas Justin Lee and Josh Marando said they “agreed.”
The second question asked candidates whether or not “Increased police presence will promote increased safety of students on and around campus.”
There were a range of opinions on the relationship between McMaster students and the police.
Lee was the only candidate to agree that police presence will promote safety. Campana was neutral, while Wesley disagreed. Marando was the only candidate to strongly disagree.
In September, a string of break-ins in Westdale prompted a greater police presence in the area. During the same month, a video depicting a woman being run over a McMaster police horse was widely shared on social media.
The candidates were mostly in agreement with the statement that the MSU should oppose the provincial government’s free speech mandate requiring Ontario universities to implement a free-speech policy.
Wesley was the only candidate not to agree with the statement, choosing a “neutral” response instead. Campana indicated he agreed, while both Lee and Marando chose “strongly agree.”
In October, the Student Representative Assembly unanimously passed a motion opposing the government mandate.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="201" gal_title="2019 Presidentials Survey Results 2"]
The next question asked candidates whether or not the MSU should lobby against the government’s changes to tuition, student fees and the Ontario Student Assistance Program.
The survey showed that all the candidates were in stark opposition to the provincial government’s changes to tuition, student fees and OSAP announced on Jan. 17.
Lee, Marando and Wesley all strongly agreed with the statement, while Campana selected the “agree” response.
Regarding McMaster’s accessibility, Wesley and Campana indicated there was room for improvement, as they strongly disagreed and disagreed with the statement that the school is “fairly accessible” for students with various disabilities.
Lee and Marando were neutral on the issue.
[Best_Wordpress_Gallery id="202" gal_title="2019 Presidentials Survey Results 3"]
The results also show that none of the candidates are satisfied with McMaster’s current efforts to prevent and address sexual violence. When asked if McMaster does a “sufficient job” in this area, Campana and Wesley strongly disagreed, while Lee and Marando disagreed with the statement.
McMaster’s sexual violence policy is up for review this year.
Overall, it appears that while there is a high degree of agreement amongst candidates on topics such as the Ontario government’s recently announced tuition and OSAP changes, candidates differ in their views on issues like the relationship between students and the Hamilton police and McMaster’s response to sexual violence.
The voting period for this year’s MSU presidential election is taking place from Jan. 22 to 5 p.m on Jan. 24. To vote, students can fill out the ballot sent to their McMaster email or login and vote at www.msumcmaster.ca/vote.
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By: Elliot Fung
If you are a full-time undergraduate student enrolled in at least 18 units, you are eligible to vote in this year’s McMaster Students Union presidential election. Here is some more information about the election and how you can successfully cast your ballot.
The president is the primary spokesperson for the MSU and serves as the representative for McMaster students to the university, Hamilton and the provincial and federal government.
The next MSU president will hold the position for a one-year term beginning on May 1, 2019 and ending on April 30, 2020.
The MSU president is also the chair of the board of directors of the Student Representative Assembly, which is comprised of the vice president (Finance), vice president (Administration) and vice president (Education).
This year’s election has four candidates: Madison Wesley, Jeffrey Campana, Josh Marando and Justin Lee. More information about their platforms can be found here.
The voting system will be “single transferable vote.” What this means is that, on your ballot, you will get to rank candidates in order of preference.
In particular, you will have the opportunity to rank your preference of candidate from one to four. However, you do not have to rank all candidates.
Your vote will count towards the candidate you rank first.
The candidate with a majority of total first choice votes will be the president-elect. If a majority is not achieved through the initial counting, the candidate with the least number of first-choice votes is eliminated.
However, if you voted for the eliminated candidate, your ballot still counts. Your vote will be transferred to your second-choice candidate. Votes are then recounted.
If a majority is still not achieved, the process of vote transfer is repeated until a candidate has a majority of first choice votes.
Should a candidate be disqualified or withdraw from the election after polling takes place, your vote will still count too as long as you indicated a second-choice candidate.
In this case, your vote would be transferred to your second-choice candidate.
Voting opens on Jan. 22 and closes on Jan. 24 at 5 p.m. Ballots are being sent out via email, so check your McMaster email as soon as you get the chance!
You can also vote at www.msumcmaster.ca/vote. Log in using your Mac ID and an election link will appear if you are eligible to vote.
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On Jan. 17, the McMaster Students’ Union hosted a debate featuring the 2019 MSU presidentials candidates four candidates. Here are some of the highlights.
The first question of the debate concerned whether the candidates are more focused on advocacy or student life.
Josh Marando said he would be more focused on advocacy.
Jeffery Campana explained that the limited one-year term of a president would mean smaller initiatives are more important to him.
A1: Campana: Platform aims to engage students to get them more involved; focuses on both advocacy points and student engagement. "I am more out for student engagement, but I don't sacrifice advocacy"
— The Silhouette (@theSilhouette) January 17, 2019
The debate quickly turned to Ontario government’s decision to restrict Ontario Student Assistance Program grants and make some student fees optional, a move that was announced the morning of the debate.
Madison Wesley pointed to the announcement as proof of why advocacy is central to the MSU president’s role. Justin Lee and the other candidates were also quick to condemn the new changes.
Q10: Campana - "The PC government is not for students like us". The option to opt out of student fees will cause a reduction of funding to services that the MSU needs in order to thrive.
— The Silhouette (@theSilhouette) January 17, 2019
When the topic reasserted itself later in the debate, Marando noted the need for students to be “prepared to mobilize.”
When candidates were asked to outline their main platform priority areas, Wesley pointed to the need for improved mental and physical health support systems, while Lee chose his “HSR Drivers Accountability” platform point.
Marando said he is focused on making students feel welcome, and Campana spoke about his plan to place free menstrual products in all-gender bathrooms.
On the subject of off-campus housing, all the candidates said they were in favour of the new MSU landlord rating system.
Marando pushed the need to continue supporting landlord licensing, while Wesley and Lee talked about continuing housing education programs for students.
The discussion became more heated when candidates were asked to critique an opponent’s platform point.
Marando pointed to the logistics of Campana’s on-campus ice rink proposal.
Campana, Lee and Wesley criticized Marando’s proposed increase of the maintenance budget and various advocacy goals.
A6: Wesley - Most critical of Marando's point on lobbying to freeze tuition. Previously, OSAP is a provincial legislation issue, problem is that there are entire groups of lobbyists that dedicate time to this and they haven't gotten very far.
— The Silhouette (@theSilhouette) January 17, 2019
One audience member asked how the candidates would increase campus safety.
Ideas ranged from Wesley’s call for improved police response to the need to upgrade lighting and fix emergency poles on campus, put forth by Campana and Lee, respectively.
A7: Wesley - Student safety big concern. Main issue is that Hamilton police have not been involved, advocating for students to Hamilton police important. If we have concrete advocacy coming from the school, we may be able to change a lot for the better.
— The Silhouette (@theSilhouette) January 17, 2019
When asked about sexual violence on campus, all of the candidates agreed that training for students, Welcome Week reps and staff needs improvement.
Marando pointed out that none of the other candidates’ platforms addressed sexual violence.
Campana countered by saying that the issue could not be fixed in a one-year term.
A11 Rebuttal: Campana - Didn't address the issue in his platform because it is not a problem that one president can fix. Several different groups across campus must be involved; it is not enough to put a "bandaid solution" on a platform
— The Silhouette (@theSilhouette) January 17, 2019
The candidates were also given the opportunity to explain what made them unique.
Marando cited his comprehensive MSU experience. Campana did the same while stressing his experiences outside the MSU.
While acknowledging their relative inexperience, Lee and Wesley stressed the creativity of their platform and noted that they represent the only ethnic minority candidate and only female candidate, respectively.
The full debate can be found on the MSU Facebook page.
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By: Ryan Tse, Hannah Walters-Vida, Natalie Clark
Click on the candidates to learn about their platform overviews.
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[button link="https://www.thesil.ca/msu-presidentials-2019-madison-wesley-platform-critique" color="red"] MADISON WESLEY PLATFORM CRITIQUE[/button]
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[button link="https://www.thesil.ca/msu-elections-2019-jeffrey-campana-platform-critique" color="red"] JEFFREY CAMPANA PLATFORM CRITIQUE[/button]
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[button link="https://www.thesil.ca/msu-presidentials-2019-josh-marando-platform-critique" color="red"] JOSH MARANDO PLATFORM CRITIQUE[/button]
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[button link="https://www.thesil.ca/msu-elections-2019-justin-lee-platform-critique" color="red"] JUSTIN LEE PLATFORM CRITIQUE[/button]
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It’s that time of the year where a large majority of students are strategically avoiding the atrium of the McMaster University Student Centre. The campaigning period for the next McMaster Students Union president is currently underway and will continue until the end of polling on Jan. 24.
Elections for MSU president are held annually, and are voted on by the MSU membership. While this sounds fair on paper, this translates into the consistent underrepresentation of co-op and internship students during elections. These students, who are not technically MSU members, are not allowed to support presidential candidates which includes voting or being a member of a presidential campaign team.
This is especially concerning considering co-op and internship students make up a large per cent of McMaster’s undergraduate population, with some programs like the bachelor of technology mandating co-op. If graduating students are afforded the right to vote and influence the MSU, despite not being present to actually experience the changes themselves, it makes little sense to deny returning students the same rights.
The argument in defense of excluding these students is that they do not pay the MSU fee. For the 2018-2019 academic year, this fee was $573.07, paid by each full-time undergraduate student at McMaster University in addition to their tuition and other fees. Note that $230 goes towards the MSU Health and Dental plan where students have the option to opt-out.
While it is true that co-op and internship students do not pay MSU fees or tuition, they still are required to pay co-op fees. For example, students in the faculty of science are required to pay a $3050 co-op fee over three years, which includes a yearly $150 administration fee. Similarly, students from the DeGroote School of Business must pay around $900 to participate in the commerce internship program.
A solution could be to allow these students the option to opt-in to the MSU fee and thus become MSU members with all the rights and privileges afforded with MSU membership, including the right to participate in MSU elections. But should students be forced to pay the full MSU fee in order to be represented?
Other student unions like University of Victoria’s Students’ Society collect partial fees from co-op students. Payment of this partial fee allows these students to only access services that are relevant towards them. This includes access to the health and dental plan, ombudsperson, university bursaries and democratic participation in students’ society elections.
If a system like this was introduced to the MSU, it would allow co-op and internship students the ability to benefit solely from services and activities that pertain to them, while not unnecessarily paying for services which are less relevant to students away on placements like participating in MSU clubs. This could then essentially be a reduced version of the $130.26 MSU operating fee that full-time undergraduate students pay as part of their MSU fee.
Alternatively, the MSU can make it so that returning MSU members are afforded electoral rights without having to pay an additional fee. Co-op and internship students spend the majority of their degree at the university. They have most definitely paid MSU fees in the years preceding their placements and will continue to pay fees upon their return. Why should they be charged additional monies during their short term away just to be represented?
Students on co-op or internships are still returning students that deserve to have an input on their union’s representation. Whatever change is made for future elections, it stands that the current unfair treatment of co-op and internship students by the MSU is a disservice to us all.
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On Oct. 22, McMaster students headed to the polls, voting in their respective wards for councillor, mayoral and trustee candidates, respectively. Despite improvements overall for the city, the numbers suggest that student turnout continues to falter.
Overall turnout this year for the city was up from the 2014 municipal election turnout, with 38.6 per cent of eligible voters compared to 34.02 per cent casting a ballot.
Ward 1 also saw an increase in turnout with 8,944 ballots cast, resulting in a 42.52 per cent turnout. This is an improvement from 2014 and 2010, when turnout was at 40.74 per cent and 40.70 per cent, respectively.
Age and McMaster-specific voting stats are not available, but city-wide and poll-by-poll results in Ward 1 offer a glimpse into how many McMaster students voted.
Binkley United Church, Dalewood Elementary School and Temple Anshe Sholom are three of the closest polling stations to campus. In 2014, these three stations counted 1,725 combined votes. This election, that number was at 1,784.
However, this year, a new polling station at the Church of God Hamilton also registered 312 ballots.
McMaster has around 31,000 students. Even if all the votes at the four closest stations were students, the combined 2,096 votes cast at those polls is under 10 per cent of the student population. If only 10,000 Mac students live on campus or in student housing, 2,096 votes would still fall well short of 30 per cent turnout.
Because many students live in other wards and may have voted there, it is hard to measure student turnout completely accurately. However, the polling numbers seem to indicate that student turnout still remains low in student housing areas, with small to modest improvement from 2014 to 2018.
Before the election, the McMaster Students Union ran a MacVotes campaign to encourage students to head to the polls. On the day of, MacVotes continued tabling and walked students to the polling stations.
MSU vice president (Education) Stephanie Bertolo said that candidate campaign staff told MacVotes that a large number of voters at Dalewood Recreation Centre and Binkley United Church registered on the day of the election. Many of these were likely students who had never voted in Hamilton at their current address.
“Overall, I believe we ran a very successful campaign,” said Bertolo. “Many students engaged with the campaign both online and at our table, asking us questions about how to get out to vote.”
Nonetheless, the city-reported polling numbers suggest that the campaign was only somewhat successful in increasing student turnout, at least for this election. One way to potentially improve student turnout is to have more convenient polling stations for students.
During the 2006 municipal election, there was a polling station on campus. However, the station was pulled in 2010 and has not been reinstated since.
Newly elected Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson said in a statement after the election that she supports a McMaster polling station.
“Not having a voting poll at McMaster University campus is not in the best interest of our city, our nation or our democracy,” Wilson said. “We must normalize voting and make it easier, not more difficult.”
Despite the MacVotes team’s increased push to promote voting, it appears many students still opted not to vote. While the underlying factors and reasons for not voting are unclear, is is fair to say there is a lot of work still to be done to motivate students to get civically engaged.
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By: Sam Marchetti
In the recent municipal election, McMaster University students living in Ward 1 were presented with quite the challenge: 15 candidates for mayor and 13 candidates for Ward 1 councillor. This sums to 28 candidates with 28 different platforms that could potentially affect student voters.
Students make up a substantial fraction of Ward 1 and yet the majority likely did not know all their options when they headed to the polls–that is, if they went to the polls at all. The Oct. 22 election saw one of the worst voter turnouts in the city’s history.
Considering that there were just under 9,000 ballots cast in Ward 1, and McMaster has an undergraduate population of about 27,000, it is safe to say that the majority of students did not cast their ballot.
There must be a reason for low student turnout. A quick poll among classmates revealed that most students did not know enough about the election and the candidates to think it was worth their time to cast a vote. Even among my own housemates, I know they didn’t cast a ballot just because they had no idea who to vote for.
Our new Ward 1 councillor, Maureen Wilson, won by over a 20 per cent margin. It is also interesting to note that Maureen Wilson was one of the most active candidates on social media and out in the community, with a large committee campaigning for her, knocking on doors and putting up signs.
One of the key points she made that attracted lots of attention and approval was her dedication to improving transit and completing the light rail transit system. However, I have serious doubts that most voters knew anything beyond this or even the platform of any other candidate.
It makes sense; who wants research different 28 candidates? That takes a lot of time and effort that most students can’t afford. But if anyone who had voted for Wilson based solely on her transit platform done a little more research, they might have noticed another candidate, Jason Allen.
Allen was also committed to improving our public transit, but had the added benefit of a background working in transit management. This clearly appealed to many voters who did the necessary research, since he was able to secure a second-place spot in the election.
I am not any better. I may have researched four of those 28 candidates, at most.
It is clear that with the sheer number of people running in Hamilton’s municipal elections, the municipal elections office has a responsibility to make every candidate’s platforms and publicized background easier to access.
It is true that newspapers like The Silhouette did offer summarized platforms of each of the 28 candidates. But this is not enough; the responsibility to provide an all-platform resource should not fall solely on external news outlets.
When we lack a system like this, we risk voters missing out on a candidate who may not have had the resources to run the most visible campaign, but could more accurately represent the feelings of our community. The lack of a municipally created and promoted all-platform resource seriously discourages a large number of people from making their voices heard.
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In only four days from now, McMaster students with a Hamilton address will have the opportunity to vote in the 2018 Hamilton municipal election. Here is a guide to the day of to help you find your way to a voting station and come armed with all the information you need to successfully cast your ballot.
The municipal election will take place on Oct. 22.
You have the chance to vote for the next mayor, Ward 1 city councillor and Ward 1 and 2 school board trustee.
If you are a Canadian citizen 18 or older and have a Hamilton address, you are eligible to vote in Hamilton.
As a student, you are eligible to vote both in your “home” municipality, if it is not Hamilton, and in the Hamilton municipality where you live. The bottom line is, if you have an address in Ward 1, temporary or permanent, you can vote in Ward 1. All you need is some ID that shows you live there.
Near McMaster and in the surrounding area. If you are in Ward 1, you have 11 polling stations. The closest station to McMaster is Church of God Hamilton at 265 Bowman Street. If you are coming from either the east or west side of Main Street, you can take the 5 to Main Street West and Emerson Street and walk from there or hop on the 51 to Whitney Avenue and Emerson Street.
[google_maps id="35383"]
The polling station will be open from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm.
The nearest polling station to campus is a 25-minute walk from the McMaster University Student Centre. If you choose to bus from campus, you can take the 51 at Sterling Street and University Avenue to Whitney Avenue and Emerson Street. From there, it is a few minutes to Bowman Street and Willowcrest Avenue, where the church is located.
You will need to bring a document that shows your name and Ward 1 address.
Possible documents include:
A full list of documents can be found on the City of Hamilton website.
It is ultimately up to you. Below, you can find a list of online sources that highlight information on candidates and feature their respective platforms.
Ward 1:
- The Silhouette: www.thesil.ca/meet-your-ward-1-councillor-candidates
- The Hamilton Spectator: www.thespec.com/news-story/8891703-ward-1-information-for-hamilton-voters/
- The McMaster Students Union’s MacVotes campaign: www.msumcmaster.ca/macvotes/macvotes-municipal-elections-2018/ward-1-candidates
Mayor:
- The Hamilton Spectator: www.thespec.com/news-story/8894782-mayor-race-information-for-hamilton-voters/
- The McMaster Students Union’s MacVotes campaign: www.msumcmaster.ca/macvotes/macvotes-municipal-elections-2018/mayoral-candidates
Because you can and you should. Voting gives you an opportunity to exercise your democratic right and have the potential to impact what Hamilton will look today, tomorrow and in many years in the future. So do some research, get to the polling station, warm-up your ballot-checking fingers and cast a vote.
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[spacer height="20px"]By Elliot Fung
The Ward 1 councillor candidates are promising a number of changes that aim to improve McMaster student life. While ideas such as support for landlord licensing and the light rail transit project can be found in multiple platforms, the candidates differ in their approach to some key areas.
With the constant rise of housing prices, affordable housing, which includes student housing, is considered a top priority for all candidates. However, there are many unique proposed methods to tackle this election issue.
Carol Lazich proposes cooperative student housing initiatives and the purchase of excess land for construction of student housing complexes. Sophie Geffros proposes that new developments be required to have 15 to 25 per cent affordable and geared-to-income units.
On the other hand, Both Ela Eroglu and Sharon Cole propose intensification and infill developments. Harrison White also supports cooperative student housing initiatives and proposes the re-introduction of rental-property based tax breaks.
Sharon Anderson proposes an increase in the number of medium density developments through zoning by-law adjustments. Linda Narducci proposes better negotiations between existing landlords, patrons and developers.
Another issue pertinent to McMaster students concerns the health and safety problems caused by absentee landlords of student rentals and education about tenant rights.
Candidates Maureen Wilson, Cole, White, Geffros and Lyla Miklos support a licensing system for rental properties that would help to ensure that tenants’ rights are sustained. They also promote educational programs for students to ensure that students understand tenant rights and what landlords are legally allowed to do.
Geffros’ plan includes a $10 to $50 fee for landlords to lease a home; in return, the city would inspect rental units to ensure they are up to health and safety standards. Eroglu proposes a different approach through a two-year pilot project in the Ainslie Wood area aimed at enforcing rental housing by-laws. Lazich proposes the implementation of stricter regulations and penalties for landlords if properties are not maintained.
Candidates Wilson, Narducci, Jason Allen, White and Anderson aim to address street and traffic safety, an issue particularly relevant to students coming to campus every day from surrounding residential areas. Some proposed plans include better enforcement of speed limits and working with the city of Hamilton to clear roads and sidewalks after snow falls during the winter.
Retention of McMaster graduates in Hamilton is another issue that Lazich and Eroglu aim to address. In particular, Eroglu proposes to attract new businesses to set up in Hamilton. Lazich proposes partnering with corporations and small businesses and providing grants to students for startups.
Moreover, some candidates are promising the launch of new services and initiatives unrelated to the most significant issues at play.
For instance, Lazich wants to introduce a number of new services concerning students including dog therapy, an Indigenous Enriched Support Program, male support groups for first years, promotion of student success programs and education programs for cannabis use.
Geffros aims to address safety, hate crimes and sexual violence in Ward 1 by creating well-lit pedestrian paths, implementing emergency poles and funding free bystander intervention training.
With this year’s large number of candidates, there is a great deal of consistency across platforms with respect to themes and topics being prioritized. But while candidates are focusing on the same issues, they diverge when it comes to how they intend to address them.
For more information on candidates' platforms:
[button link="https://www.thesil.ca/meet-your-ward-1-councillor-candidates" color="red"]VIEW ALL CANDIDATE PLATFORMS[/button]
Questions on how to vote?
[button link="https://www.thesil.ca/ward-1-voting-101-a-voting-guide-for-mac-students" color="red"]WARD 1 VOTING GUIDE[/button]
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