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Ten people vying for Ward 12 councillor in 2022 Hamilton election

First Published:

There is a large field of candidates running to replace outgoing Ward 12 Hamilton city councillor Lloyd Ferguson.

Ten people want the job of representing Ancaster on the next city council. The race for Ward 12’s seat has attracted a large swath of potential replacements.

Many people tell CHCH News they are hearing the same things at the door, concerns over taxation and transit, and most are running on a platform that addresses one or both of those issues.

Realtor Richard Deverson is running for council to stop the LRT, “I think every candidate in every ward should be asked that question, what is your position on the LRT, and if they say they are pro LRT, in my opinion, they should be disqualified.”

Transit is the top issue for Pamela Mitchell too, who also ran in the 2014 and 2018 elections. Mitchell wants to stop the LRT, switch the city’s discount taxi fare program from paper to a reloadable card, and increase bus service to Hamilton’s rural areas.

Several Ward 12 candidates say high taxes and getting better value for tax dollars is the top issue they are hearing at the door.

Rotary Club of Ancaster President Karl Hanley says he wants to use his years of business experience and community engagement to help.

“Looking at inflation and how the economy is at the moment, seniors in the community, everyone in the community are struggling to meet the demands. Facing higher increases of property taxes is a challenge for everybody,” Hanley said.

William Robert Hume spent eight years on the Flamborough town council before amalgamation and says he will bring that experience to work on taxation concerns.

Robert also wants to preserve the historic charm of Ancaster Village, similar to what has been done in downtown Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Bob Matton is also passionate about preserving Ancaster. Matton is president of the Ancaster Village Heritage Community and wants to continue that work on council, as well as tackle taxation concerns.

“We are faced with what the city is proposing as a 14 per cent rise in taxes, that’s for propety taxes combined with sewage and water rates and we need to battle that,” Matton said.

Craig Cassar says he’s hearing the same concerns about taxation and transit. But also says Hamilton’s largest long-term problem is climate change and says his decades in the business world has prepared him to deal with that challenge.

“The community energy and emissions plan is something that Hamilton is already working on, we need to make sure that it’s implemented in a way that we transition from carbon emissions to carbon-free emissions as quickly as possible,” Cassar said.

Advertising sales professional Cindy Kaye says road safety would be a priority for her if elected. Calling herself the ‘gal next door’, she wants to bring more female voices to council.

“Historically this ward has been represented by males so it would be great to bring some gender diversity to Ward 12 and the city council table,” Kaye said.

Rob Baboth is running on his experience as a corporate executive, saying the city is facing a lot of problems but one of the biggest is within city hall itself, “big one that keeps coming up is transparency, people want to know where their tax dollars are going.”

Chuck Alkerton is running on his experience too, 36 years working for the city including as a facility manager. He says his experience will give him the edge as a councillor.

“I’d be able to hit the ground running, I’ve worked with union staff, non-union staff, senior management, councillors, the mayor’s office, provincial and federal governments,” Alkerton said.

Megg Markettos is also running in Ward 12 but was unable to participate today due to work commitments.

Voters head to the polls on October 24th.

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