The
1997 HamiltonHamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
municipal election was held on November 10, 1997 to select one Mayor, one regional chairperson, seventeen members of the
Hamilton City CouncilThe Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.The current council consists of the mayor plus fifteen councillors, one elected from each of the city's wards. The incumbent council was elected in a municipal election on November 13, 2006...
, elected on a two-tier basis, as well as members of both the English and French Public and Catholic School Boards. The suburban communities of Ancaster, Flambrough, Glanbrook, Dundas and Stoney Creek, each elected town councils for the last time before amalgamation.
Voter turnout remained steady in 1997, amidst events such as
Premier Mike Harris'Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
Common Sense Revolution service cuts, the Plastimet Fire, and plebiscites on smoking by-laws and a proposed casino.
New measures
For the 1997 election, the City of Hamilton switched from paper ballots to a new automated voting system. This system saw voters mark their choices on a paper ballot, enclose it in a 'privacy sleeve' and feed it into a computer that automatically tabulated the results.
Official Candidates
- Incumbent Mayor Bob Morrow
Robert Maxwell Morrow UE is a Canadian politician, who served as mayor of Hamilton, Ontario from 1982 to 2000. He was the longest-serving mayor in the city's history....
sought, and won, a sixth term in 1997. His campaign was centered around the establishment of a one-tier 'megacity', and the lowering of downtown taxes.
- Civil Servant Dave Snowdon was an employee of Human Resources Development Canada
The Department of Human Resources Development, also referred to as Human Resources Development Canada , is a former department of the Government of Canada...
and called the east Mountain home. The 31 year-old father of two focused on making the city a more inclusive community, especially in respects to youth, increased investment in the downtown core and promoted environmentally responsible issues.
- Fitness Instructor Kristina Heaton was the first female contender for the position since 1978, and campaigned on uniting environmental groups across the city, establishing a monitoring system to investigate cases of animal abuse and increasing police foot-patrols in the downtown core.
- Future city councillor Brian McHattie
Brian McHattie is a Canadian politician, environmentalist and lecturer who is a Hamilton Municipal Councillor.McHattie was born in Weston, Ontario and, in 1987, moved to Hamilton...
ran on an environmentally conscious platform that promoted practical spending, and supported an inquiry into the Plastimet disaster, improving municipal air quality and upgrading the city's sewer system.
- Paul Decker was the automotive manager of a Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is one of Canada's 60 largest publicly traded companies. The firm operates an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retailing hardgoods, apparel and petroleum as well as financial and automotive services, employing more than 58,000 people across Canada...
store in DundasDundas is a formerly independent town and now constituent community in the city of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada. It's nickname is the Valley Town. The population has been stable for decades at about twenty thousand, largely because it has not annexed rural land from the protected Dundas Valley...
, and ran in the 1994 Election, finishing second to Mayor Morrow. Though known in his community for his volunteer work and commitment to municipal affairs, he was arrested a year after the 1997 Election on charges of defrauding his employer for under $1,500.
- College student Waylon MacDonald, who was training to be a machinist at the time of the election, advocated a reversal of the downtown conversion to one-way streets and focused on reducing the debt.
- An unemployed moulder in 1997, Wendel Fields, who was also a former candidate for the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada is a Canadian federal Marxist–Leninist political party.The party is registered with Elections Canada as the Marxist–Leninist Party of Canada...
in the riding of Hamilton West in 1997, promoted the idea of establishing 'people's councils' to ensure Hamiltonians had a say in the direction of their tax-dollars, as well as lowering taxes for small businesses, while raising them for large corporations.
Results
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Mayor |
| Bob Morrow |
58,414 |
75.1% |
| Dave Snowdon |
4,996 |
6.4% |
| Kristina Heaton |
4,642 |
5.9% |
| Brian McHattie Brian McHattie is a Canadian politician, environmentalist and lecturer who is a Hamilton Municipal Councillor.McHattie was born in Weston, Ontario and, in 1987, moved to Hamilton...
|
4,254 |
5.4% |
| Paul Decker |
3,462 |
4.5% |
| Waylon MacDonald |
1,404 |
1.8% |
| Wendel Fields |
610 |
0.9% |
| Total valid votes |
77,782 |
100.00 |
City Council election
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ward 1 |
| Mary Kiss (incumbent) |
4,560 |
29.2% |
| Marvin Caplan (incumbent) |
4,125 |
26.4% |
| Cam Nolan |
3,848 |
25% |
| Sarah Whatmough Sarah Thomson, also known as Sarah Whatmough-Thomson, is publisher and CEO of the Women's Post magazine. She was a Toronto mayoral candidate in the 2010 municipal election. Thomson was the Liberal candidate in the riding of Trinity—Spadina in the 2011 provincial election.-Childhood:Thomson was...
|
3,059 |
19.4% |
| Total valid votes |
15,589 |
100.00 |
- Mary Kiss successfully ran for a sixth term in 1997, promoting her personal record of constituency work and environmental advocacy, as well as highlighting the very small tax increases that have occurred during her tenure on council.
- Incumbent Marvin Caplan made a successful bid for a second term as Ward One's junior councillor in 1997, promoting his advocacy on downtown issues and promoting social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
.
- Second-time candidate Cam Nolan was the executive director of the Hamilton Construction Association at the time and ran on a fiscal responsibility
Fiscal conservatism is a political term used to describe a fiscal policy that advocates avoiding deficit spending. Fiscal conservatives often consider reduction of overall government spending and national debt as well as ensuring balanced budget of paramount importance...
and anti-incumbency platform.
- Newcomer Sarah Whatmough
Sarah Thomson, also known as Sarah Whatmough-Thomson, is publisher and CEO of the Women's Post magazine. She was a Toronto mayoral candidate in the 2010 municipal election. Thomson was the Liberal candidate in the riding of Trinity—Spadina in the 2011 provincial election.-Childhood:Thomson was...
, owner of multiple gas stations across the city, campaigned against bureaucratic red-tape and promoted direct-democracyDirect democracy is a form of government in which people vote on policy initiatives directly, as opposed to a representative democracy in which people vote for representatives who then vote on policy initiatives. Direct democracy is classically termed "pure democracy"...
in dealing with municipal issues. As Sarah Thomson, she would later run for Mayor of Toronto in 2010The 2010 Toronto municipal election was held on October 25, 2010 to elect a mayor and 44 city councillors in Toronto, Canada. In addition, school trustees were elected to the Toronto District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire de district du Centre-Sud-Ouest and...
and as a LiberalThe Ontario Liberal Party is a provincial political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. It has formed the Government of Ontario since the provincial election of 2003. The party is ideologically aligned with the Liberal Party of Canada but the two parties are organizationally independent and...
candidate in the 2011 Ontario electionThe 40th Ontario general election was held on October 6, 2011 to elect members of the 40th Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The Ontario Liberal Party will form a minority government, with the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario serving as the Official Opposition and the Ontario New...
.
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ward 2 |
Andrea HorwathAndrea Horwath , is a Canadian activist and politician. She is the Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party in Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Hamilton Centre, and was chosen as the party's leader at its 2009 leadership convention.She is...
|
3,587 |
28.1% |
| Ron Corsini |
3,364 |
26.4% |
| Vince Agro (incumbent) |
2,097 |
16.4% |
| Bill McCulloch (incumbent) |
2,097 |
16.4% |
| Jason Capobianco |
902 |
7.1% |
| John Kenyon |
512 |
4% |
| Jim Savage |
208 |
1.6% |
| Total valid votes |
12,767 |
100.00 |
- Andrea Horwath
Andrea Horwath , is a Canadian activist and politician. She is the Leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party in Canada. She is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, representing the riding of Hamilton Centre, and was chosen as the party's leader at its 2009 leadership convention.She is...
, 35 years old at the time, was a community organizer, and campaigned on a platform of bringing change to City Council after nearly 3 decades of the same representation for Ward Two.
- Rob Corsini was the owner of Corsini Supermarkets and a member of the Liberal Party of Ontario, who campaigned on restoring the economic health of the downtown core following the Plastimet fire, an industrial disaster that affected the northern portion of the ward, assisted heavily by Hamilton West MP Stan Keyes
Stanley Kazmierczak Keyes, PC is a Canadian diplomat and former politician.Keyes was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988 election as the Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament for Hamilton West. He was subsequently reelected in 1993, 1997 and 2000 elections...
.
- Vince Agro, a councillor of 25 years, campaigned on the importance of dealing with the coming provincial downloading on a case-by-case basis, as well as highlighting his experience.
- A councillor for 31 years, Bill McCulloch, ran solely on his experience, maintaining that proven leadership was the most effective way to run a city. He caused some controversy by writing off Horwath and Corsini's candidacies, saying, "Let me suggest we need one person with experience. If all of a sudden we were to get rid of everyone with experience, the new people wouldn't know where the washroom is!"
- 26-year-old financial planner Jason Capobianco ran against amalgamation and provincial downloading, saying he would refuse to accept any provincial proposal to change the status quo.
- John Kenyon was manager of the Payne Music House on King Street East and campaigned on bringing change and new ideas to the table, as well as lowering business taxes in the core
- Jim Savage, who was associated with the Corktown Community Association, ran on a reformist platform, calling for a new perspective in city politics and a reduction in business taxes.
Ancaster
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ancaster Mayor |
| Bob Wade Robert E. Wade served as mayor of Hamilton, Ontario from 2000 to 2003. He currently resides in the Hamilton community of Ancaster.Robert Wade moved to Ancaster from London, Ontario in 1960 after his employer London Life Insurance Company transferred him. He was first elected to the Ancaster Town...
(incumbent) |
acclaimed |
|
- Despite being acclaimed, Wade fought provincial downloading and grappled with Ancaster's new commercial development, the Meadowlands Power Centre.
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ancaster Deputy-Mayor |
| Ann Sloat (incumbent) |
3,218 |
57% |
| Phil Winer |
2,467 |
43% |
| Total valid votes |
5,685 |
100.00 |
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ancaster Ward One Councillor |
| Murray Ferguson (incumbent) |
acclaimed |
|
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ancaster Ward Two Councillor |
| Barry Kent |
622 |
64% |
| Scott McCallum |
355 |
36% |
| Total valid votes |
977 |
100.00 |
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ancaster Ward Three Councillor |
| Brad Khun (incumbent) |
acclaimed |
|
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ancaster Ward Four Councillor |
| Bryan Kerman (incumbent) |
793 |
51% |
| Larry Weber |
773 |
49% |
| Total valid votes |
1566 |
100.00 |
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ancaster Ward Five Councillor |
| Luanne Robertson (incumbent) |
acclaimed |
|
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ancaster Catholic School Board Trustee |
| Carolyn Cornale (incumbent) |
1,275 |
53% |
| Philomena Newberry |
1,114 |
437% |
| Total valid votes |
2,389 |
100.00 |
| Candidate |
Votes |
% |
| Ancaster Public School Board Trustee |
| Bruce Wallace (incumbent) |
acclaimed |
|
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