One week until Ontario municipal election

There’s just one week to go before municipal election day, and in Hamilton, the top three contenders for mayor have put their campaigns in overdrive.

As they sprint to the finish, Bob Bratina, Andrea Horwath and Keanin Loomis are all feeling like they have a lot of support from Hamilton voters.

“I feel the same way as I did in 2010, that every day has been a good day, more signs, more interest from the public, more response to our messaging,” Bratina said.

“They know that the city has some challenges and some great opportunities, and what they’re telling me is, the person who’s leading the ship has to be experienced so I’m feeling a lot of love out there which is great,” Horwath said.

“I think that we have definitely the momentum and it’s been great, we’ve been to every single corner of this community, as kinds of events, all kinds of canvasses,” Loomis said.

The United Steelworkers Local 7135 endorsed Loomis, the former head of the city’s Chamber of Commerce today.

Frank Crowder of USW Local 7135 says the union usually supports the NDP but, “we’re at the municipal level and we’re looking for individuals who are going to look out for our city.”

Loomis is being criticized by some online for an old tweet, seen as disparaging toward union workers on strike.

“It’s ridiculous to suggest that I’m anti-union, anti-worker based upon some tweet that was out ten years ago,” Loomis said.

Hamilton’s advance polling numbers are up again this year. The city says more than 31,000 people cast a ballot over the four days the polls were open. For comparison it was just over 17,000 in 2018 and in 2014 it was just over 13,000.

Some of the voters CHCH News spoke with today say bringing change to city hall is important to them. Others aren’t paying much attention to this election.

All three campaigns have more planned before election day, saying there will be more endorsements, more events, and more canvassing before the week is out.