The race is on: Hamilton Ward 8 councillor candidates hit the campaign trail running

There are 26 candidates on the by-election ballot, vying to represent West Hamilton Ward 8 at Hamilton City Hall.

CHCH News takes a closer look at a few of the candidates in this fall’s by-election who are hitting the ground running.

There is just over a month to go until advance voting begins.

Sonia Brown, the runner-up in the last Ward 8 race, said she’s been knocking on doors for the past two months.

“I have spoken to close to 10,000 people already, and I’m listening to everybody at their door,” said Brown. “I’m hearing what they’re saying about the lighting in the parks, speed bumps, safety, garbage.”

Brown said her top issues are housing and using tax dollars more effectively.

Similarly, former councillor and MP Scott Duvall said he’s running to make life more affordable in the West Hamilton Mountain ward.

“People are very, very upset with the direction the city is running right now, and they cannot afford any more double-digit tax increases,” said Duvall. “With the rising rates of water and our taxes, and the high cost of living, we’re basically putting them out of their homes.”

Safety is another issue that came up repeatedly, while CHCH News spoke with candidates, especially following the shooting death of an innocent bystander in the ward this spring.

Harsimrat Randhawa, the 21-year-old Mohawk student who was killed while waiting for the bus in April, was something that is top of mind for the community activist and entrepreneur Lohifa Pogoson Acker.

“Every issue that Ward 8 encounters — Ward 8 residents encounter — I have personally experienced,” said Pogoson Acker. “When it comes to affordability, youth opportunity, public safety, community connectedness, I have lived that life.”

“I have talked the talk with the institutions that can provide solutions, and I continue to walk that walk,” said Pogoson Acker.

In addition to concerns about public safety, disability advocate Anthony Frisina also said transit is becoming a bigger issue in his ward.

“I feel that we need an equitable transit system that allows everybody to navigate from “A” to “B” with dignity and respect,” said Frisina. “We talk about accessibility in the community, we talk about doing great things in the movement towards accessibility, but if we don’t have a dignified transit system to get us there, the accessibility is moot.”

The previous councillor, John-Paul Danko, vacated his seat in the spring, after he was elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas in the federal election.

26 names will be on the ballot when voters head to the polls on Sept. 22. Advance voting begins at Hamilton City Hall Sept. 15.

READ MORE: 18 candidates running for vacant Hamilton Ward 8 councillor seat