Ward 4: East Hamilton candidates focused on the impacts of light rail, housing and infrastructure

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 lightediting 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'selection coverage can be found here.

As light rail transit along King Street comes closer to becoming a reality, businesses in Ward 4 are increasingly worried about how they will survive during construction, according to several of the candidates running for the area's council seat.

Other big issues in the east-end, lower city ward soon to be vacated by longtime councillor Sam Merulla include homelessness and the need for more affordable housing, as well as the city's infrastructure deficit.

Addressing road safety also ranks highly for many of the 11 candidates running for the Ward 4 job, which isn't surprising as the busy Main and King streets run through the ward, and because the area has seen several incidents where cars have struck pedestrians this year. In February, a hit-and-run driver killed a 70-year-old man and his dog on Lawrence Road, east of the Red Hill Valley Parkway. In April, a 14-year-old girl was seriously injured in a hit-and-run incident at Parkdale Avenue North and Roxborough Avenue.

Merulla has held the seat since 2000, and announced two years ago he wouldn't be running again. The open seat drew a slate of 11 candidates the most running in any race except Ward 5, which also has 11.

Some of the candidates have a higher profile, includingEric James Tuck, president of (Amalgamated Transit Union) ATU Local 107 and Alex Johnstone, Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustee and former chair who led the trustees through the pandemic but also found herself embroiled in a racism scandal.

Ward 4, also known as East Hamilton, is bordered by the Niagara Escarpment and King's Forest Golf Course to the south, Hamilton Harbour to the north, Ottawa Street to the west and the Red Hill Valley to the east.

In its recent term, council has been discussing whether to add more lanes to the Red Hill Valley Parkway, which runs between Wards 4 and 5. Of the nine candidates in this race who responded to CBC Hamilton's election survey, almost all are either opposed to the expansion or undecided Adam Oldfield is the only candidate in support.

One-third of the area of the ward is comprised of industrial and commercially-designated land, including the industrial waterfront location of ArcelorMittal Dofasco and the sprawling shopping area The Centre on Barton.

About 38,595 people live in the ward, which has fewer people under age 25 and over 70 than the city average. It has fewer married people and couples with children than the city as a whole, but more common law couples by about 10 per cent. It also has more single-parent families, separated and divorced people than the city average.

Nearly all of the ward's residents are Canadian citizens, with 84.1 per cent of residents born in Canada. That's high compared to the city overall. The ward has a much lower proportion of immigrants than the city average, and a lower proportion of permanent residents. However, the ward has almost double the proportion of Indigenous residents than the city average.

The ward's average household income is $66,128; more than $21,000 lower than the city average.

Here's more on the candidates running to represent Ward 4 at city council

Maxwell Francis

Francis, 52, described himself as a small business owner.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:Every door that I've knocked on has complained to me about crime and road safety. As the councillor for Ward 4 one of my main objectives is to make sure the residents know that I will do everything in my power to keep them andtheirfamilies safe

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:Increased affordable housing, increased attention to the arts, increased infrastructure budget.

Angelica Hasbon

Hasbon describes herself as an educator, researcher, community bridge-builder and consultant.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:We're seeing a divergence of issues. At the north end of the ward, we have pollution and environmental concerns that are affecting our residents. Therefore, I would like to work with the community to find solutions that lessen industrial impacts on our neighbourhoods and make these spaces safer for members. In areas where we are seeing large-scale development proposals, we already have issues with traffic and congestion on residential streets, and I'd like to ensure that future development works with the community and is done so through community consultation beforehand, not after. Development is inevitable, but we can ensure our residents stay in Hamilton by including them in the picture and ensuring these developments do not further aggravate housing, traffic, and infrastructure. Instead, development should be done in a sustainable way that improves infrastructure, makes it easier for people to own their own homes and live in decent places, and is done in small steps so that it doesn't exclude or push out our current residents. We need to make sure that our streets are safe by implementing specific (tailored) traffic calming techniques in residential areas.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:I will implement apolicy to form neighbourhood governance bodies to address issues acrossthe ward, by allowing residents to organize action-plans to resolve existing issues and, therefore, expanding the governance framework to foster participation and discussion. We need to use the resources and personnel that we have! We need to listen to the residents, and we need to createmodels for participation that drive real change and are supported by the residents.Second, I will implement apolicy of transparencythat sets out a structure of understanding between myself (the elected representative) and the residents on the flow of information. Our residents deserve to know what's going on; they deserve the utmost respect and clarity on issues. We will foster civic participation, engagement and real change by transforming our governance frameworks, and this starts with embracing collaboration, transparency and accountability on all fronts. From these two initial governance policy models, we can work on addressing issues such as housing, traffic, infrastructure, liveable communities, health, the environment, crime and so forth in a more sustainable, community-driven manner.

Tammy Hwang

Hwang, 41, described herself as an economic development officer and a small business owner.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:Homelessness is top of mind for me to address. This city-wide issue is surfacing in Ward 4 in specific ways. People without homes can be seen in wooded areas and on the fringes of several city parks within the Ward 4 boundary. To tackle this complex issue, I will work with council to implement the city's homeless ending strategy and to find safe, short-term solutions to house this population. The strategy must be executed in a timely manner, with appropriate staff and resources so that people impacted can feel safe and supported as we head into the colder seasons. Long term, we will need to resource social services network to ensure that everyone has mental health support, access to harm reduction programs and other types of support that will encourage reintegration into the community at large. Root causes of homelessness stem from mental health challenges, addiction, rising cost of living, stagnant social assistance rates and lack of adequate social support. This multifaceted challenge requires collective action from all sectors.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:My top three priorities and policies are finding short-term solutions for safe and warm places for the homeless community. Solutions I'd like to explore include a temporary use of a city park or vacant land that has access to toilet facilities and partnerships with Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters (HATS) to create temporary shelter facilities for people who are homeless. I also want to look at pilot project funding for social services to deliver mobile support services, such as mental health and harm reduction. Secondly,enable non-profit housing providers to build more affordable units by streamlining the site plan and development process. Steps include deferring development charges or waiving them so that non-profit housing providers can start building homes faster with better cash flow at the start of their investment. Third,establish a small business council that will inform and support small businesses as we move forward on LRT construction and Main St. two-way conversion. I will also spearhead a multi-pronged communications plan to encourage neighbours to support small businesses during construction.

Alex Johnstone

Jonhstone, 39, described herself as a social worker and public school board trustee.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:More support for families and seniors. In Ward 4, child care availability is among the lowest in the city forcing many parents to choose between impossible options like turning down a job opportunity or settling for substandard child care arrangements. Alex Johnstone will take action on Ward 4's child care desertby working to ensure that Ward 4 is prioritized in building new full-day child care centres, expanding extended day before/after school programs and by working with the provincial government and local operators to streamline $10 a day childcare applications. Alex Johnstone will work to ensure older adults can remain in the homes and community they love by keeping taxes low, establishing a new senior-focused affordable housing strategy, enhance funding and expand eligibility for housing repairs and accessibility modifications, prioritize building permits for accessibility modifications and garden or granny-suites, and by working with the provincial government to build more city-operated long-term care homes in order to cut down long wait-lists and successfully meet the growing senior's housing needs in Ward 4 and across our great city.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:Keep taxes low by ensuring growth pays for growth. It's expensive for the City to service new developments in places like Ancaster and Waterdown and existing older neighbourhoods are subsidizing it. We need to ensure growth pays for growth by setting responsible development charges so that older neighbourhoods are not left footing the bill to install water and sewage in new neighbourhoods as well as repairing and placing their own pipes and services. Second,affordable housing options. From Rosedale to Parkview, Ward 4 has incredible neighbourhoods! We need to ensure people can continue to afford to live and raise their families in our Ward 4 neighbourhoods by building more social, rental and affordable ownership housing options. This includes establishing a new senior-focused affordable housing strategy, inclusionary zoning, redefining "affordable housing" from market rent which at $2,000 a month is beyond the means of most families to a more realistic measure of 30 per centof before tax income and an expansion of the City-run down payment assistance program. At the same time, we need to hold developers to account and ensure that their proposals and construction meet city by-laws.

Cindy Louise Kennedy

Kennedy, 55, described herself as a child care provider.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:Safety in our community I feel we need to look at new ideas to fix our community to provide a safe neighborhood for our residents. We need to provide safe spaces for our homeless community while making sure our residents feel safe within their homes. I would suggest that we provide more mental health programs that help these individuals get to the root of their problems so we can help them improve their lives while providing them with a safe space to live to reach their goals.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:We need a clear plan for small businesses regarding the LRT and how it will affect them and how we can help them get through this time with as little inconvenience to them and to make sure that they don't suffer financially.

Pascale Marchand

Marchand, 39,described herself as the chair of CUPE's Local 4092 health and safety committee.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:Parts of Ward 4 were abandoned by previous city councils. This was clear from my conversations with residents of the Parkview neighbourhood. For years they have advocated for better environmental health conditions. Soot coats their homes. Blasts from neighbouring industry cause their windows to crack. The neighbourhood residents are disproportionately affected by cancer in comparison to other areas of the city. Industry is vital to the economic development of the City of Hamilton. Yet people must come before profits. Without healthy residents, there is no workforce. I intend to leverage my experience in dealing with industry regulators to advocate for the people of Parkview.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:My platform was developed through conversations with local community leaders and residents, as well as recommendations from the Just Transition Coalition of Hamilton report and the social determinants of health. From this, I intend to present the following policies. First, good jobs: ensuring the City's procurement and tendering policies include requirements for a living wage, community benefits, and a good safety record. Second, housing for all: using a housing-first approach to eradicate homelessness. Third,healthy neighbourhoods: incorporating nature based solutions to City projects to improve the city's climate resiliency.

Adam Oldfield

Oldfield, 48, described himself as an entrepreneur.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:One of the largest pressing issues is the aging infrastructure and repair deficit. If we are going to make Ward 4 and Hamilton the best place to live for family, children and seniors [we need to] deal with our housing issues. We need to address the infrastructure deficit by fixing roads, sidewalks, water and sewer.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:Expand the Red Hill to threelanes The congested traffic on the Red Hill Expressway causes it to be a parking lot. This contributes with idling cars and further helps with getting large transports and congestion off our city streets to make them safer. Commercial Vacant Tax applied to unoccupied commercial properties. I would then work to support the business owners with removing challenging barriers to open their operations.

Robert Paris

Paris, 49, described himself as a software engineer.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it: Light rail transit (LRT) and new condo development. The construction involved will be very disruptive to our residents and businesses. My approach will be to manage this almost on an individual level, going door to door along the route, as well as the residential cross streets to discuss issues and bring solutions to council (where necessary). I live very near the route, and walking it would be part of my weekly routine.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:First,aSafe Streets review focusing on side streets. Many residents I talk to point to their street, or that intersection at the corner, and tell me how bad it is. Implement immediate (even if temporary) solutions like speed cameras, bump outs, speed bumps, raised cross walks. Second,establish one more or more tiny home and/or encampment sites in the city to accommodate homeless residents and get them the supports they need. Third, explorebringing more child care to ward 4 and downtown in general.

Laura Taylor

Taylor, 37, described herself as a production supervisor.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it: Infrastructure is a big concern in the Ward 4 community. Included in this is the decay of our roadways, crumbling sidewalks and pathways. Unsafe Street designs that are not always accessible to all residents. If elected I will propose we as Councillors as a whole, review and implement a bettersystem to determine how ourroadways are scheduled for maintenance and repair. This will also allow us to implement some of the Complete designs manual which was recently presented to council. Some of the ideas include but are not limited to; traffic calming measures such as narrowing streets, which will promote vehicles to travel slower. Raised crosswalks which will give better line of sight to drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. Speed cushions in some of our residential side streets. Better barriers between roadways and cyclist for safer streets.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected: I would support a council designed at making the HSR more frequent, safe and free. I think this leads to great potential to really unlock the value the HSR could bring to the entire city of Hamilton and all residents. If we get this right, we could increase ridership across the city. I would support organizations such as HATS to be given a piece of city property, so they can set up their shelters and we can start to make an effort towards helping our homeless friends and families. Our shelter system is in grave danger and already on the brink of overload. We have to find more sustainable and quick solutions to begin addressing this issue. Lastly, I would propose a transparency audit, made up of experts and members of the community so we can get a real feel for where we need to make immediate improvements. The more we engage with our residents, the more they will feel included in the ongoing at city hall.

Eric James Tuck

Tuck, 60, described himself as anHSRbus operator and president of the (Amalgamated Transit Union) ATU Local 107.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:Affordable Housing and homelessness is one of the most pressing issues facing Ward 4 and Hamilton today. If elected I would support an inclusionary zoning tax to fund affordable housing. Demand that the province grant all excess lands from the LRT to Hamilton specifically for affordable housing. I would also support the HATS's (Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters) initiatives for transitional housing. I would support initiatives to strengthen our social safety net for frontline addictions and rehab as well as Mental illness and trauma treatment at street level services. I would commit to updating our archaic zoning bylaws to allow alternative housing such as tiny homes, co-housing, co-operative housing. I would commit to replacing geared to income housing.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:Support and propose an affordable housing strategy for Hamilton that is inclusive of geared to income, transitional and alternative housing. That recognizes the need to replace and grow in keeping with our growing population and meet the needs of our community for clean, safe and quality affordable housing to recognizing this basic human need for secure affordable housing for generations to come. I would move to conduct a safe streets audit to compliment the complete streets recommendations for implementation in Ward 4, move to pass a 311 reporting and tracking system that will allow transparency and accountability for any forward facing city services in a more efficient and effective manner.

Mary Louise Williams

This candidate did not respond to CBC Hamilton's candidate questionnaire. The candidate didn't seem to have any social media or website for their campaign.

School board trustees

Public school candidates:

• ShaneCunningham Boles
• RayMulholland(incumbent)
• DavinThornborrow

Catholic school candidates:

• RalphAgostino
• JosieAngelini

For more of CBC Hamilton'selection coverage:

• 'Change-focused voters' drive the conversation in Hamilton election sure to see massive turnover
• Will you be voting this municipal election? Tell us why, why not and what matters to you
• What some Hamilton residents who can't vote say about being shut out of local democracy