October 22, 2018 2022 → | ||
 | ||
The 2018 Hamilton municipal election will occur on October 22, 2018, as per the Ontario Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Electors in Hamilton will be selecting one Mayor, members of the Hamilton, Ontario City Council and members of both English and French Public and Catholic School Boards.
Contents
Ward boundary reform
In June 2012, councillors committed $260,000 to conduct a study that would examine boundary reform in 2015, with a proposal to come forward regarding changes for the 2018 Municipal Election. This was following the 2006-2010 and 2010-2014 councils opting to push an examination of ward boundaries into the next council term.
The issue arose during the 2014 municipal election, with Hamilton's three top mayoral contenders supporting ward boundary reform during their campaigns. In early 2015, councillors approved city staff's request to put out a call for proposals for the consultants who would examine ward boundaries. The successful bidders, Watson and Associates Economists Ltd., then began a process of public consultation and examination. Throughout February, 2016, community consolation meetings were held across Hamilton to inform the public and collect feedback from residents.
City staff's timeline for the project indicates the new bylaw should be in place by 2016, altering ward boundaries in time for the 2018 election.
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board's attempt to reallocate the ward boundaries for trustees in 2013 also resulted in the decsion to task the 2014–2018 Board with examining ward boundary reform after city council redraws boundaries.
Ranked Ballots
Following the 2014 provincial election, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ted McMeekin, announced the province would be reexamining the Municipal Elections Act, 1996 to determine if the length and voting systems of Ontario's municipal elections needed alterations. Part of the reexamination was a proposal that would have allowed municipalities to adopt a ranked ballot system for the 2018 municipal elections.
In June 2015, Hamilton's manager of elections, Tony Fallis, commented that the system would confuse electors, while Ward Three councillor Matthew Green called the system a "fantastic opportunity." The following month, Green invited ranked ballot-advocate Dave Meslin to speak in Hamilton on the issue, sparking a call for a citizen's group to promote the proposed electoral system. Mayor Eisenberger spoke favourably about the new system and indicated he was willing to consider it for the 2018 election.
Potential Candidates
On election night, 2014, Ward Six candidate Dan Rodrigues told supporters he would run for the seat again in 2018 as he had been told sitting councillor Tom Jackson would not be running for re-election. Jackson denied that was the case and announced that he, too, would be seeking election in Ward Six in 2018. Rodrigues was later barred from running in 2018 for his failure to submit completed financial statements.
Ward Seven Councillor
Shortly after being sworn in for a third term as Ward Seven Councillor, Scott Duvall announced he would be seeking the New Democratic Party's nomination to run in the 42nd Federal Election as their candidate on Hamilton Mountain. Duvall was selected by party members in the riding at a nomination meeting on March 29, 2015 to stand as their candidate over his opponent, former provincial NDP candidate Bryan Adamczyk. Duvall was elected to Parliament on October 19, 2015 with 35.8% of the vote.
Prior to Duvall's election, candidates began expressing interest in running for his seat. By September 4, 2015, four candidates had already announced their intention to run in the by-election if it were to be called. On Friday, October 23, 2015, Duvall officially resigned from city council. Duvall told the Hamilton Spectator that, while he had not yet endorsed a replacement, he was watching the competition carefully.
After speculation that the by-election would occur in February or March of 2016, the CBC reported on November 2, 2015, that the election would take place on March 21, 2016, following council's approval of the date through a bylaw passed at their December 9, 2015 council meeting.
As the number of candidates increased, local media began to report on the impact the by-election was having on local political party establishments. Candidates Geraldine McMullen and Uzma Qureshi, both NDP members, maintained the support of varying factions within the party. McMullen received support from former Hamilton Mountain MP Chris Charlton while Qureshi was endorsed by current Hamilton Mountain MPP Monique Taylor and Hamilton Centre MP David Christopherson. Similarly, candidates Bob Charters, Donna Skelly, and Hans Zuriel had the support of elements of Hamilton's Conservative establishment. Charters was the Progressive Conservative's candidate on Hamilton Mountain in 2007, Skelly sought election as a Progressive Conservative in Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale in 2011 and 2014, while Zuriel is the president of the Hamilton Mountain Conservative association and heavily involved with Conservative politics at McMaster University. With the registration of former Hamilton Mountain Liberal candidate Shawn Burt on January 29, the local Liberal Party was also split between their 2015 candidate and Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas nomination contestant Howard Rabb. The local Libertarian Party establishment was also split between Luc Hetu, the party's nominated, but unregistered, candidate for the 2015 election in Flamborough-Glanbrook and Robert Young, the party's Hamilton Centre candidate. Both candidates registered on February 1 and both used Young's business address at 616 Barton Street East on their registration forms.
In an interview with the Hamilton Mountain News, McMaster political science professor Dr. Henry Jacek noted that he expected voter turnout to be very low, allowing a candidate to win with around 1,500 votes. He also indicated that by his analysis, while the splits in party support were evident, candidates aligned with the New Democrats were likely to perform well considering their historic support in Ward Seven and the popularity of Scott Duvall.
At the close of nominations on February 5, 22 candidates had registered, making the Ward Seven by-election the most contested election in Hamilton's post-amalgamation history.
Just prior to election day, Qureshi faced criticism from local media and other candidates for a letter mailed to the community from Duvall and MPP Monique Taylor that encouraged strategic voting to defeat candidates with ties to the Conservative Party. Taking aim at McMullen, who had secured the endorsement of the city's labour council and from Duvall's predecessor, Chris Charlton, the letter claimed "It is clear that (Qureshi) has risen above the pack and presents the ONLY choice if we are going to elect a strong progressive councillor for Ward 7." The letter was called "disrespectful" by McMullen and mentioned by Skelly on election night, who called it "political interference".
On election night, Donna Skelly secured victory with 1,967 votes, 92 ballots ahead of second place finisher, John-Paul Danko. Speaking with reporters after her win, Skelly noted that she wanted to "ruffle a few feathers" with regard to taxes and city finances, while announcing her support for the city's Light Rail Transit project.
Timeline
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018