#munipoli Matters - ISSUE 31 - New content!
Along with updates in Simcoe County, Windsor Essex area, Vancouver...and Ohio?
Welcome to another issue of #munipoil Matters, where you can find the latest updates on what’s happening in the often underreported area of municipal elections, politics and governance happening in the local councils spread across Canada and beyond.
I have been checking various local government websites to see which incumbents and challengers that sound familiar have registered to run for the October municipal elections. So far only Ontario and Winnipeg have begun accepting nominations for mayoral and council candidates.
Here’s the latest on the #munipoli matters happening out there.
Introducing…candidate interviews!
We are launching something new on #munipoli Matters…feature interviews of various candidates running for local office! The inaugural episode introduces Wil Husnutdinov, a 19 year old resident of Richmond Hill who is running for city councillor in that municipality’s Ward 5.
Check out the full length interview where Wil and I chat about his background, why he’s running and the important issues in his community.
The boundaries of Ward 5 in Richmond Hill are shown below (map from City of Richmond Hill website, and is showing southern portion of city)
If you are running for council in 2022, let me know if you want to chat and get your name out there!
Simcoe County, ON
While Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman has made it clear that, even if he is not successful in getting elected as a Liberal in Barrie-Springwater-Oro Medonte on June 2, he is not running for reelection to the role he’s held since 2010.
As for who is running to take over Lehman’s current job, Councillor Natalie Harris and former Conservative MP Alex Nuttall have registered to run for mayor. Nuttall, a former Barrie councillor himself, was the former Barrie-Springwater-Oro Medonte MP from 2015-2019, the same riding that Lehman is now contesting provincially.
But Lehman is not the only Simcoe area mayor to bow out, as Orillia Mayor Steve Clarke has also decided not to run again. Current Ward 2 Councillor Rob Kloostra has registered to seek the mayor’s office. Over in Innisfil, Mayor Lynn Dollin is running again.
In Penetanguishene, Councillor Jill St. Amant is running for mayor, while incumbent Doug Leroux is not reoffering for reelection but will be campaigning for a seat on council.
But in Wasaga Beach, it looks like colourful and controversial former Toronto city councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, who owns property at the beach, is set to run for mayor there as well. Mammoliti once ran for Toronto mayor on a platform of having a floating casino and a red light district similar to Amsterdam.
New parties surging in Vancouver mayor poll
Five months before Vancouverites go to the polls to elect their next mayor and city council, a recent poll conducted is showing that while incumbent Kennedy Stewart is benefiting from the power of incumbency, new civic parties are surging ahead of parties that have long held sway in Vancouver.
Stewart (Forward Together) - 41%
Ken Sim (A Better City) - 25%
Colleen Hardwick (TEAM) - 19%
Mark Marissen (Progress) - 8%
John Coupar (NPA) - 8%
When combining these numbers with ‘most likely’ choices, Stewart gets 56%, Sim 49%, Hardwick 42%, Marissen 29% and Coupar only 25%.
The NPA, aka the Non-Partisan Association, is Vancouver’s oldest and most historically successful municipal party, but according to the Sun article voters are opting for former NPA candidates who quit the party, rather than the actual party’s candidate. Vision Vancouver, the previous municipal party who held control of city council, is running a slate this fall but is not putting forward a mayoral candidate.
Who’s in and out in the Windsor-Essex region?
So far in Canada’s premiere border city, only one candidate has signed up to run for mayor: perennial candidate Ernie Lamont, previously nicknamed “The Baconman”. Candidates running for council include Darcie Renaud in Ward 1, Eric Renaud in Ward 4 and Greg Lemay in Ward 7.
Amherstburg Mayor Aldo DiCarlo has decided not seek a third term, citing desire to spend more time with family. In Essex, where a lot of ‘musical chairs’ around the council table got played after former mayor Larry Snivley resigned over violations of the Municipal Elections Act, Rob Shepley (who ran against Snively in 2018) is running for Deputy Mayor.
Over in LaSalle, Mayor Marc Bondy is not running for a second term and neither is Pelee Island Mayor Raymond Durocher. But the sitting mayors in Kingsville, Lakeshore and Tecumseh have yet to make their intentions known.
Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald will be seeking a second term in office.
Former Ohio mayor wins Democratic nomination to run for governor
The first set of primaries are unfolding across America in anticipation of the 2022 midterm elections, where the Congress, a third of the Senate and various governorships are up for grabs.
In Ohio, former Dayton mayor Nan Whaley won the Democratic primary for governor against former Cincinnati mayor John Cranley, where she crushed Cranley in a 65% to 35% decision. Whaley will now face Republican incumbent Gov. Mike Dewine, who only won his primary with 48% of the vote, in the general gubernatorial election later in November.
Whaley’s time in office saw her dealing with challenges such as the Opioid crisis, downtown revitalization and a mass shooting that occurred in 2019. Dewine faced challenges from his own core constituency over the implementation of strict COVID-19 restrictions in his state during the height of the pandemic, such as stay at home orders and mask mandates.
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