Hamilton mayor wins another term in battle of the LRT

Thestar.com
October 23, 2018
Rob Ferguson

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger rode a set of steel wheels to another term Monday, railroading a challenger opposed to the city’s $1 billion light rail transit line in one of many races across Ontario.

Boosted by an endorsement from New Democrat Leader and Hamilton Centre MPP Andrea Horwath, Eisenberger’s campaign pushed for the completion of a 14-kilometre LRT from McMaster University through downtown to the east end.

Election workers unload ballot boxes at city hall in London, Ont. on October 22, 2018. London used a ranked ballot for the first time so final results are still days away.

His closest challenger, chartered accountant and Liberal organizer Vito Sgro, had tried to persuade voters that the transit line, funded by the province, would be “the biggest mistake the city of Hamilton will ever make.”

About $100 million has already been spent on the project, which Sgro wanted to scrap and use the remaining budget for bus rapid transit and fixing other infrastructure throughout the city. He maintained the LRT’s five-year construction period would create chaos.

But the fate of the line, for which 45 properties have already been purchased with residents and businesses relocated, could depend on Hamilton’s 15-member council.

In Ottawa, long-time Mayor Jim Watson easily staved off a challenge from former city councillor Clive Doucet.

Watson, the second, most-powerful mayor in the province after Toronto’s John Tory, romped to a landslide victory with 71 per cent of the vote to earn a third term.

“Thank you Ottawa for your vote of confidence. I am humbled and privileged to have the opportunity to serve you once again,” tweeted the former provincial Liberal cabinet minister.

Voters in London, however, went to bed with no idea who their new mayor will be.

The city was using a ranked ballot for the first time and results were incomplete, as officials had warned. First choices were not expected until the wee hours of Tuesday and it’s possible voters will not learn the final outcome until Wednesday. Matt Brown decided not to seek re-election as mayor.

“We will only be counting the first choice votes tonight,” the city said in a tweet late Monday.

In Niagara Falls, incumbent Jim Diodati fought off a challenge from Kim Craitor, a former Liberal MPP for the honeymoon city who quit Queen’s Park in 2013 citing mental exhaustion and won a seat on city council the following year.

Diodati has pledged to press Premier Doug Ford to keep the previous government’s commitment to have daily GO train service to Niagara Falls in 2023.

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley scored a tenth term, doubling his closest opponent, despite human resources investigations two years ago that found he bullied and harassed staff members at city hall.

In Thunder Bay, where incumbent Keith Hobbs did not seek re-election after being charged with extortion and obstructing justice, former Liberal cabinet minister Bill Mauro won a narrow victory over Frank Pullia.

Mayors winning re-election included Jeff Lehman in Barrie, Barry Vrbanovic in Kitchener, Bryan Paterson in Kingston and Drew Dilkins of Windsor, who beat back a challenge from former chamber of commerce CEO Matt Marchand.

Dilkins had worked with Detroit on a joint bid for Amazon.com’s second North American headquarters, and got a boost recently when Detroit billionaire Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans announced he would build a tech centre in Windsor, rehabbing a vacant downtown building formerly home to a seafood restaurant.

Not every city was blessed with a smooth election as municipalities moved to online and telephone voting faced glitches, leaving candidates in limbo and citizens pining for the old days of paper ballots.

In Sudbury, for example, city staff blamed server troubles and extended voting until 8 p.m.Tuesday.

“Due to province-wide issues with the election server we will be extending voting period to 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 23,” the city tweeted. “Residents can still vote online on a computer, tablet or iPhone.”

Mayoral candidate Cody Cacciotti issued a statement calling the Sudbury situation a “fiasco.”

In Waterloo Region, voters will have to wait until at least Tuesday for an official result for regional chair in the race between Jay Aissa, Jan D’Ailly, Rob Deutschmann, and Karen Redman due to online voting problems.

In Peterborough, incumbent Daryl Bennett, mayor since 2010, was crushed by challenger Diane Therrien, a city councillor, who took 69 per cent of the vote to his 31 per cent.

Five-term Brantford Mayor Chris Friel was defeated by lawyer Kevin Davis, a former city councillor who garnered 53 per cent of the vote.