who is running for mayor in hamilton?
For the 2022 election, Hamiltonians will vote for one mayor and a city councillor in one of 15 wards. Based on their electoral registration, voters will also select one of 11 Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustees, 9 Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board trustees, 1 Conseil scolaire Viamonde trustee, or 1 Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir trustee. Hamiltonians will have the options of voting in-person or through a mail-in ballot.
who is running for mayor in hamilton?
Hamilton’s light rail transit (LRT) project has been a contentious issue since proposals surfaced in 2008. Supported by Hamilton city council and Metrolinx, the transit agency responsible for projects across the Toronto and Hamilton areas, the new rapid transit system was intended to ease congestion on the city’s Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) system. In September, 2008, a city-commissioned survey found that 94% of Hamiltonians surveyed supported investment in rapid transit with 66% supporting light rail transit (LRT), 8% favouring bus rapid transit (BRT), and 20% endorsing either option.[5]
The proposed BLAST Network in Hamilton
Following Doug Ford’s election as premier in 2018, the provincial government maintained tacit support for the city’s LRT project, with Ford telling Eisenberger if “[you] want an LRT, [you’ll] get an LRT”. In a surprise move, Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney announced in December 2019 that the province would no longer support the project, citing a new cost estimate of $5.5 billion. By August 2020, it was revealed that the revised $5.5 billion estimate was overinflated, as it included 30 years of capital and operating costs. Initial capital costs were estimated at $2.3 billion, prompting NDP leader Andrea Horwath to say “It’s very clear the minister of transportation and [Premier Doug Ford] pretty much made this stuff [the new costs] up.”
The provincial government suffered from notable backlash and opted to strike a task force to study alternatives to LRT. The resulting report confirmed earlier reports, indicating that LRT was a viable system, but provided the option between LRT and a bus rapid transit (BRT) system. Councillors Collins (Ward 5 – Redhill), Jackson (Ward 6 – East Mountain), Clark (Ward 9 – Upper Stoney Creek), Pearson (Ward 10 – Lower Stoney Creek), Johnson (Ward 11 – Glanbrook), Whitehead (Ward 14 – West Mountain), and Partridge (Ward 15 – Flamborough) all announced they either preferred BRT or wanted it to be studied further, while Councillor Ferguson (Ward 12 – Ancaster) indicated he was uncertain regarding either proposal. The Federal Infrastructure Minister, Catherine McKenna, indicated that, were LRT to be revived by the provincial government, the federal government would consider providing funds to the project.