#munipoli Matters - ISSUE 30 - Nominations galore!
The municipal campaign season....has BEGUN!!!
Welcome to another issue of #munipoli Matters, where you can find the latest on what’s happening in the often under-reported area of municipal elections, politics and governance happening in the local councils spread across Canada and beyond.
It’s been about a week since municipal election nominations opened up in Ontario and Manitoba, as Canada’s largest province launched into a provincial election campaign for a June 2 vote.
Various municipal candidates have already announced their intentions or filed their nominations to run, so here’s just a sampling of who’s in the running so far.
Who’s running for council in Ontario?
Mississauga, ON: Mayor Bonnie Crombie will be running for her 3rd term while Joe Horneck, who almost defeated Ward 6 incumbent Ron Starr in 2018, is running again for the same position.
Starr, the Ward 6 Councillor since 2010, had recently been embroiled in allegations that he keyed former Ward 2 councillor Karen Ras’ car several times in the past two years in Mississauga Civic Centre's underground parking lot.
Peel school trustee Nokha Dakroub will be contesting Ward 9, as sitting Councillor Pat Saito is retiring after 30 years in office. Incumbents such as Stephen Dasko (Ward 1), Chris Fonseca (Ward 3), John Kovac (Ward 4), Matt Mahoney (Ward 8) and Sue McFadden (Ward 10) have all registered to run for reelection.
Caledon, ON: Mayor Allan Thompson’s decision to not run again, and losing two regional council seats, has opened the door for two Peel Regional Councillors, Annette Groves and Jennifer Innis, to run for mayor. Groves provided the crucial vote to allow the Region to reallocate Caledon’s representation from 5 to 3, while Innis vehemently fought to maintain the town’s status quo.
Cambridge, ON: Ward 4 Councillor Jan Liggett is officially challenging Mayor Kathryn McGarry for the city’s top job. McGarry, a former Liberal MPP, was elected in 2018 defeating then incumbent Doug Craig.
Hamilton, ON: it seems the city is engaged in a perpetual battle against its own citizens, as several candidates who registered to run on Monday, May 2 were told they could not be inside city hall nor anywhere on city property to even introduce themselves to the public.
This resulted in newly nominated mayoral candidate and former Board of Trade head Keenan Noomis and other challengers (not incumbents) awkwardly talking to the media just off city property.
Ironic, since incumbent members of Hamilton City Council like Mayor Fred Eisenberger was allowed to do so right inside city hall during the last campaign.
Vaughan, ON: outgoing Progressive Conservative MPP Gila Martow is now running for a position as City Councillor for Ward 5 (Thornhill), an area she once represented in the Ontario legislature.
Ottawa, ON
A number of candidates have started filing for the mayor’s job now that Mayor Jim Watson is retiring after 12 years in office. Former mayor Bob Chiarelli, who was also a provincial cabinet minister and current Councillor Catherine McKenney (Somerset Ward) are amongst the first few big names previously mentioned that are running.
Sudbury, ON
Former Liberal MP Paul Lefebvre has declared his intentions to run for mayor of Greater Sudbury this fall. Lefebvre, a lawyer, was elected as a Liberal in the 2015 federal election, reelected in 2019 before opting out of a third term last year.
“I worked hard to put Sudbury back on the map in Ottawa, and now I want to continue that work at Tom Davies Square. I want to bring the experience, the leadership skills, the connections and the vision to move Sudbury forward and fulfill its potential,” Lefebvre said, saying economic development, infrastructure and city hall transparency will be the three pillars of his campaign.
Also in the running for mayor at the time of this writing is former councillor Evelyn Dutrisac, local homelessness advocate Bob Johnston and Miranda Rocca-Circelli.
Incumbent Brian Bigger, who was reelected in 2018 with 28% of the vote, is expected to seek a third term since he was first elected mayor in 2014.
Winnipeg’s mayoral field shaping up
As we previously reported, there are several contenders in the running for the mayoral post left open by outgoing Mayor Brian Bowman this fall in Manitoba’s capital city. Jenny Motkaluk, who finished a strong second to Bowman in the 2018 civic election, was one of the first to register along with two other names: Don Woodstock and Chris Clacio.
This was followed by even more big names entering the race: Councillor Scott Gillingham (St. James) and former Winnipeg Centre Liberal MP Robert Falcon Ouellete. A military veteran, Ouellete placed a strong third place in the 2014 mayoral race with 15.7% of the vote as a first time candidate for mayor.
He then ran for the Liberals in the 2015 election, upsetting veteran NDP MP Pat Martin in Winnipeg Centre. As a rookie, Ouellete contested for the position of Speaker of the House of Commons before backing out. He lost his seat back to the NDP in 2019.
Social entrepreneur Shaun Loney has also registered to run for mayor, but one name previously mentioned, Councillor John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry) is now backing out running for mayor, although he hasn’t committed to whether he would even run for reelection to Winnipeg City Council.
Registration for mayoral candidates in Winnipeg began on May 1, and registration for candidates for City Council begins on June 30.
BC happenings
Kamloops, BC: A third councillor will not be running for reelection in October. Councillor Kathy Sinclair said she is leaving to prioritize her health, friendships and family, adding that she had faith ‘good people’ will run for Kamloops City Council.
Sinclair’s departure means there will be four positions up for grabs. Councillors Dieter Dudy and Arjun Singh are running for mayor since incumbent Ken Christian is also stepping aside.
Lytton, BC: A municipal by-election has filled two vacant council seats in this small interior town that was devastated by wildfires in June 2021, which delayed the election. A total of 82 ballots were cast in advance, by mail, and on election day. Melissa Michell finished with 71 votes, while Ross Urquhart received 66 votes. The third candidate, Ernie Wagner, received 24 votes.
Sorrento, Blind Bay, BC: It’s a decisive NO from local voters deciding whether the province will incorporate its 162nd municipality. Voters have rejected the incorporation of the Sorrento-Blind Bay municipality by a vote which took place on April 30, rejected by a nearly 10 to 1 margin: 2072 voting no and only 272 voting yes.
A yes vote would have resulted in Sorrento-Blind Bay being split off from being administered by the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District. Instead, the area known as Electoral Area C, which contains Sorrento and Blind Bay, will now be split into two electoral areas (see above photo).
The two communities will now be in Electoral Area C1 and have their own representative on the CSRD board. Incorporation into a municipality would have meant they would need to elect their own mayor, council and for some…the concern was increased taxes for new services.
West Vancouver, BC: Former mayor Mark Sager is making his second bid to get back into the office he held from 1990 to 1996. In 2018, he only lost to current Mayor Mary-Ann Booth by just 21 votes after a judicial recount.
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