Ward 13: The longtime incumbent wants to preserve the past while the lone challenger yearns for change

CBC Hamilton has asked all candidates for Hamilton City Council to share their priorities and talk about an issue they believe needs solving in their neighbourhood. Their answers are left here in their entirety, with slight editing only for spelling/grammar. For applicants who did not respond to CBC Hamilton’s questionnaire, information was taken from their websites, where possible. All of CBC Hamilton’s election coverage can be viewed here.

Residents of Ward 13 will have to choose between an incumbent councilor who is most focused on preserving the unique qualities of the Dundas and Flamborough area, and a nominee who emphasizes the environment.

« Preserve the past…protect the future, » is one of longtime incumbent Arlene VanderBeek’s mottos, according to her website.

« Our community. Our future, » is candidate Alex Wilson’s slogan on his website.

The neighborhood is in the Dundas Valley and is bordered by the Dundas municipal boundary to the east, Highway 8 along the southern boundary, Hamilton city limits along Gore Road to the west and Highway 6 and Milgrove Sideroad to the north.

The neighborhood is home to the African Lion Safari, Westfield Heritage Village, Dundas Valley School of Art, Dundas Valley Conservation Area, much of the Royal Botanical Gardens and Cootes Paradise.

It is also home to several rural settlement areas such as Freelton, Kirkwall, Rockton and Greensville.

The city’s website indicates that there are 35,365 residents in the neighborhood. Residents tend to be more educated and less diverse compared to the rest of the municipality.

The average household income is $113,930 compared to the city average of $87,775.

Voter turnout in the ward is 43.6% compared to the city average of 38.4%.

VanderBeek was Dundas’ advisor before the merger and worked alongside then-advisor Russ Powers until his retirement. She became a councilor for Ward 13 in 2014.

She has since opposed expanding city limits, backed light rail transit and backed the fight against a court injunction that would stop the city from dismantling a downtown encampment.

She had previously faced criticism for approving the sale of an unassumed lane that connected a school to a day care centre. A developer who did some work in town bought it for $2.

Learn more about the candidates for Ward 13.

Arlene VanderBeek

Besides her political accomplishments, VanderBeek describes herself on her website as a Dundas resident and former business owner.

She is the current President of Dundas Community Services, Chair of the Dundas Downtown BIA Management Board, and sits on 27 other boards and committees within the city and ward.

Its website says it focuses on economic diversification, affordable housing, affordable public transit, and safer streets, among other things.

Alexander Wilson

Wilson, 25, describes himself as the legislative assistant to Sandy Shaw, the NDP MLA for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas.

Describe an urgent problem facing your parish and what you would do to address it: Resilient neighborhoods: We need local and community solutions to the problems we face. Flooding continues to affect many Ward 13 residents, which will only get worse if we don’t act now to address these vulnerabilities. At the same time, many areas of our city are vulnerable to the urban heat island effect, where a lack of urban canopy results in ambient temperatures of up to 5°C, leading to significant health effects for older people. and people with disabilities, especially during the heat. waves. I am committed to investing in building the resilience of our neighborhoods and ensuring that our city prioritizes equity in every step of this work.

Name up to 3 policies you would propose or support if elected: First, I will create Ward 13 Youth Councils for elementary and high school students in Ward 13. Second, free public transit for seniors, youth, and low-income residents. By augmenting existing fare subsidy programs, we can begin by providing free public transit to elementary and secondary school students, residents age 60 and older, and low-income residents. These are important demographics for increasing ridership, which in turn increases provincial gas tax funding that can be reinvested into our transit system. Third, protect tenants: We can better protect tenants in our community by creating local bylaws to protect tenants from renovations and demolitions, introducing an extreme heat bylaw to protect tenants from extreme heat events, and expanding landlord licensing across the city to ensure tenants are protected. substandard housing conditions by ensuring that building standards bylaws are enforced and that there are proactive inspections, for which landlords can be held accountable.

school counselors

The candidates for the positions of school commissioners in the region are:

Public school applicants:

• Larry Masters
• Paul Tut (holder)

Candidates from Catholic schools:

• Phil Homerski (incumbent)
• Ricky Tavares

For more on CBC Hamilton’s election coverage: