Ward 6: Challengers look to unseat Jackson, councillor since 1988

CBC Hamilton asked all candidates running for Hamilton city council to share their priorities and speak to an issue that stands out to them as needing to be addressed in their ward. Their answers are left here in full, with light editing only for spelling/grammar. For the candidates who did not answer the CBC Hamilton questionnaire, information has been drawn from their websites, when possible. All of CBC Hamilton's election coverage can be found here.

Four days before the Augustdeadline to register as candidates for the election, the only person who had signed upwas Tom Jackson, who has represented the ward for 34 years.

Four challengers signed up to run in the final days, though: a paramedic, a small business owner, a political aide for the local Liberal member of parliament and a retired person with ties to the None of the Above Party, a group created in 2014 to express disillusionment with mainstream politics.

The East Mountain ward faces challenges including access to public transit, affordability and failing infrastructure, according to the candidates running to represent the area. All candidates who responded to CBC Hamilton's questionnaire said more has to be done to provide a variety of housing options for people of varying incomes, including laneway housing, rent-geared-to-income housing and adding a variety of unit typesto all new developments.

At council, Jackson is among those who supported getting rid of the vaccination mandate for city workers. His campaign website boasts achievements including numerous road repairs and park upgrades, including ongoing work to get a new play structure built in Eleanor Parkand renamed after Jude Strickland, an 11-year-old boy hit by the driver of a pickup truck while crossing Upper Gage Avenue in December. He has also led efforts to create a safer viewing platform at Albion Falls, the location of numerous falls andinjuries.

The ward is home to 38,650 residents. It follows the edge of the escarpment to the north and east and is bordered on the east by Upper Red Hill Valley Parkway. The southern limit followsthe hydro corridor south of Rymal Road. The western limits of Ward 6 mainly run along Upper Gage Avenue and Upper Sherman Avenue.

Here are the candidates in the race:

Tom Jackson

Tom Jackson, 66, has been the Ward 6 councillor since 1988. He did not respond to CBC Hamilton's questionnaire.

His website says his four-year priorities include:

• Future expansion of Huntington Park Recreation Centre, with$100,000 for a design feasibility study already approved;
• Return of five-pin bowling to Sherwood Plaza;
• Maintaining public program/services/facilities whilst striving to keep future tax increases as close to 0 per centas possible; and
• Advocatingfor the complete electrification of the Hamilton Street Railway bus fleet.

Dan Preston

Dan Preston is 56, retired and has previously run for election as a candidate for the None of the Above Party.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward, and what would you do about it? Affordability.This is not something that can be fixed overnight, mixed income housing should be the standard requirement for any development proposals in order to obtain the required permits. Developers have profited for years and are responsible in part for the current crisis, they need to be part of the solution. Hamilton together we can do better.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected: Accountability: Councillors are voted in every four years and are seldom heard from in the meantime, they should be responsible for awareness in their ward so the community knows what decisions are being made on their behalf.

Effectiveness: It is an open secret that Hamilton city councilhas been dysfunctional for years if not decades, this needs to change and it starts with changing those currently in power

Transparency: It is very easy to find on the [city] website what the council has voted on in the news section, not as easy to find what the agenda is for upcoming meetings, the public should be seamlessly in the loop as it is their city, it's almost as if it's designed for them to ask for forgiveness instead of asking the public for permission. Hamilton together we can do better.

Donna Puddu

Donna Puddu, 59, is a constituency affairs manager for Hamilton Mountain Liberal Member of Parliament Lisa Hepfner.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward, and what would you do about it? Housing Affordability: Examine all the areas of the city that are currently vacant and areas that may be modified. Increase density with a commercial residential mix with a community lens. I will work with other levels of government to increase the number of affordable housing units. Develop a partnershipwith not-for-profit organizations, bring back rental property registration, and ensure current and future development addresses the needs and desires of the community.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected: Affordability, housing, a living wage, supporting commercial growth.

Transparency: open door policy for communication, acting on community concerns.

Infrastructure: fix and maintain our critical infrastructure properly.

Chris Slye

Chris Slye, 37, describes himself as a small business owner.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward, and what would you do about it? Housing affordability is an issue that affects almost everyone. Whether you have children that you would like to have grow up and stay in the city, or have friends/family that are struggling to pay rent or find a place to live. My commitment is to work for a large expansion of our Hamilton public housing, to make far more geared-to-income, non-market housing available to those who need it.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected: 1. A comprehensive analysis on all streets and neighborhoods in Ward 6 to determine safety needs, how we can improve walkability and biking in the ward (as done similarly in wards 1, 3 and 8) so that we can have a clear path forward on how to make real improvements for our residents.

2. A commitment from city hall to become active in purchasing land, and utilizing existing public lands to build public, non-market geared-to-income housing to build up a social safety net for Hamiltonians, working in conjunction with not for profit organizations and potentially an in-house public development team.

3. Rent controls on all properties (even those built after 2018) including commercial units, and including units that become vacant.

Stefan Spolnik

Stefan Spolnik is a 36-year-old paramedic.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward, and what would you do about it? Affordable Housing. It is no secret that housing in Hamilton has become unattainable for the majority of residents. I want to develop policy to protect renters from renovictions, incorporate policy on new development to ensure a set number of units are geared to income as well as two- and three-bedroom units are implemented to make up a larger proportion of new builds to better facilitate growing families. We should also consider laneway housing in areas that have alleyways to help mitigate the housing crisis.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected: Bus Routes: Bus routes south of the Lincoln Alexander Parkway must be expanded to service newly developed neighbourhoods. There are currently only two bus routes that pass beyond the LINC, and they only run along main streets, leaving entire neighbourhoods without easy access to public transportation.

Sidewalk Snow Removal: Our population is aging and there has been talk of sidewalk snow removal for residents for many years but it never seems to come to fruition. I think this is an important service that should be implemented.

Heritage Trees: I plan to implement a heritage tree program to ensure mature trees are protected, and to plant trees in parks to create more shade in the summer months. We are in a climate emergency. Trees are carbon sinks and produce fresh oxygen. This policy would help to mitigate some of the issues we are facing now and in the future.

School board trustees

Public school candidates:

• KathyArcher
• JayEdington

Catholic school candidates:

• EllenAgostino
• PeterMamer
• AnthonyMari

For more of CBC Hamilton's electioncoverage:

• 'Change-focused voters' drive the conversation in Hamilton election sure to see massive turnover
• OPINION | In Hamilton, real estate is the new art
• How to vote in Hamilton's 2022 municipal election
• Want to get elected in Hamilton? Study finds campaign success doesn't come cheap