Congratulations to our new council - Leadership for a better Hamilton

The IELECT Candidate Questionnaire asked candidates to identify their top 3 citywide concerns for each IELECT priority – Infrastructure, Economy, Leadership, Environment,  Community, Transportation.

We developed a summary of the responses from the winning candidates in each of the IELECT priority areas – Infrastructure, Economy, Leadership, Environment, Community, Transportation.

OUR VISION
Our vision is simple:

Too often, great things in Hamilton happen in spite of our Mayor and Council, not because of them. 

It’s time for change. It’s time for new and inspired leadership. For new leaders who are innovative, progressive, and informed. New leaders with a bold vision of Hamilton’s future.

When we vote in the next municipal election in 2022, let’s all vote for new leadership for a better Hamilton.

6 PRIORITIES

To help define a positive path forward, we looked at research that identified 6 Municipal Priorities affecting every Hamiltonian, no matter where you live, for how long, or how much you pay in taxes. 

WHY THESE 6 PRIORITIES?

We looked at what municipalities across Canada saw as important areas of focus. And where they spend most of their money.

We also compared the 6 Priorities with the Strategic Priorities outlined by Hamilton’s new City Manager, Janette Smith, as well as the priorities defined by the Our Future Hamilton Vision.

Together, these 6 priorities spell i>elect. They’re interconnected, each impacting the other. i>elect is committed to electing  new leaders who understand the importance of this interconnection, and work together to deliver the results Hamiltonians expect of their leaders and for their city.

Each one of us is the I in i>elect. Each one of us gets to cast a single vote in the next election for the person we think is best qualified to help build Hamilton’s future.

ISSUES
Here are some of the most critical issues our current leaders have failed to address and have become problems:

Red Hill Valley Parkway Road Surfacing Cover Up

Red Hill Valley Parkway Road Surfacing Cover Up In early 2019, the City of Hamilton received information regarding a 2013 friction report related to the Red Hill Valley Parkway. Concerns were raised about the type of paving used and the role the surfacing might have played in the high number of accidents, including several fatalities,…

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Sewergate Leak in Chedoke Creek

Sewage Leak in Chedoke Creek – Sewergate The public became aware of a 24 billion litre sewage leak that spilled into the Chedoke Creek, which feeds into Cootes Paradise, over a 4 year period. The scale of the leak was withheld from the public until the Hamilton Spectator received information from a whistleblower and made…

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Cootes Paradise Sewage Cover Up

Cootes Paradise Sewage Cover Up – Sewergate Once the Chedoke Creek sewage leak was revealed, it was further revealed that Council had voted to not inform the public of the leak into Cootes Paradise, and claimed they were only following legal advice. Hamilton council’s continued desire for secrecy makes it look worse than if it…

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Pride Day Violence & Police & Council Reaction

Pride Day Violence & Police & Council Reaction At the Pride Day Festival in 2019, white supremacists attended the event and proceeded to harass attendees. Violence broke out between the agitators and peaceful attendees of the celebration. Police were called, but were not prompt in their arrival. The violence and subsequent controversy over police reaction…

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Extremists Demonstrating At City Hall Forecourt

Extremists Demonstrating At City Hall Forecourt Beginning in the summer of 2019, members of the hate group Yellow Vests Canada began appearing in the City Hall forecourt sharing hate-filled comments and posters. As a way of standing up to hate, many Hamiltonians chose to gather each Saturday in the forecourt in peaceful protest. Many people…

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StatsCan Hate Crimes Report

StatsCan Hate Crimes Report Stats Canada released a report in 2019 stating that, according to national statistics, Hamilton had a higher number of reported hate crimes-per-capita than any other city in Canada. Hamilton has the highest rate of hate crimes in Canada: report Mayor Fred Eisenberger was not available for comment on the report Meagan…

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Alleged White Supremacist Working In IT

Alleged White Supremacist Working In IT It was reported in 2019 that a suspected white supremacist had been working in the City of Hamilton’s IT department as an analyst. Some people reported that his name had been left off the department’s organization chart. Allegedly, some believed this was done intentionally so as not to draw…

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Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre Controversy

Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre Controversy HARRC, the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre was imagined in 2015 as a three-year pilot project. It opened its doors in April of 2018 as a partnership between the City of Hamilton, McMaster University, and the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI). During a meeting of Council. It was proposed that…

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LRT Dithering

LRT Dithering LRT has been a topic in Hamilton for over a decade. Council has voted to support LRT dozens of times over the years, although some have done so half-heartedly, saying their support for LRT was based on their view that the City of Hamilton should not have to put up any money for…

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Affordable Housing Crisis

Affordable Housing Crisis Too many people in Hamilton find themselves in unaffordable housing situations. Rents are increasing, as are waiting lists for subsidized housing through City Housing Hamilton. As areas of the city continue to gentrify, the challenge becomes worse. New, affordable units are not being added nearly fast enough. It has become a crisis…

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Area Rating Avoidance

Area Rating Avoidance When the City of Hamilton was amalgamated, it was decided by Council to find a way to even out tax rates across the evolving post-amalgamation city. Suburban wards started paying more taxes for some services, but Wards 1 through 8 were not given a corresponding tax cut. Instead, the extra taxpayer cash…

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Increasing Their Own Pensions

Increasing Their Own Pensions In a move that received little coverage at the time, City Council voted to modify the way they were paid. They approved a move that would see the one-third tax free component incorporated into their base salaries, thereby increasing their salaries from around $72,000 to over $90,000. This change added nearly…

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ABOUT US

IELECT Hamilton is a grassroots, volunteer-run organization comprised of Hamiltonians from across the city that launched officially on May 22, 2021 with a full page advertisement in the Hamilton Spectator.

We’re a registered not-for-profit organization. We have three Directors – Graham Crawford, Ryan Moran and Craig Burley.

We’re a team-based organization with Standing Committees in Communications, Research, Volunteer Coordination, Media Relations, Fundraising, Website. We also have hundreds of volunteers.

We have no party affiliation, will not be running a slate of candidates, nor will we be endorsing any candidates in the next municipal election.

We are funded entirely by individual donations from members of the public.

Our Vision is:
New leadership for a better Hamilton.

We believe it’s time for change around the Council table. We believe long-tenured Councillors have had more than enough time to demonstrate their capabilities. We believe there is a citywide appetite for change given the number of scandals, poor decisions, lacklustre results, and a resistance for real change by our leaders.
To join our growing team, please use the contact page of this website. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ielecthamilton.ca

ielect IN THE NEWS

Hamilton Community News : Kevin Werner

“During a recent interview, IELECT co-chair Graham Crawford said he expects the mayoral race, along with various ward races, to be heavily contested. IELECT is encouraging candidates to run in every ward. He wasn’t surprised when 21 people applied to city hall to represent Ward 5 after former councillor Chad Collins resigned to become the…

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Examining the IELECT Hamilton Resident Survey: A Visual and Thematic Analysis

By

Rebecca Correia, Aliana Fristensky, Hani Choksi,

Dusan Kovacevic, Megan Li and Evan Gravely

CONTACT

If you’d like to get in touch, please send us an email with questions or ask about volunteering.

We’ll get back to you right away.