With no one on the new council able to claim that even one third of their constituents actually voted for them (see table below), there is increased pressure for substantially more public consultation. In that context the results generated by the non-partisan People’s Platform offer potentially important insights into resident wishes, and also provide some indication of what to expect from the new faces on council, each of whom cast ballots in the Hamilton Civic League process.
After nineteen public meetings across the city in July, August and September to receive input, resident proposals were consolidated into a list of 47 statements that were sent to all candidates and then opened to on-line voting a few days prior to the October 27 election. The process won endorsement from the four top mayoralty candidates, and obtained responses from nearly half of the ward contenders plus 544 residents.
Respondents included all five of the new faces on council – Mayor Eisenberger and councillors Aidan Johnson, Matthew Green, Doug Conley and Arlene Vanderbeek. Four of them endorsed at least 38 of the 47 elements of the people’s platform and all backed at least six of the ten proposals that won the most on-line voter support. Those top ten were dominated by demands for more transparency and consultation with residents.
The most popular plank asked that the city and school boards “provide clear explanations of planning and spending decisions.” That won 95 percent support from residents, as well as agreement or strong agreement from all participating councillors – who also included incumbents Jason Farr, Sam Merulla, Scott Duvall and Maria Pearson. Voters had five choices on each proposal in the platform – strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree.
Other platform demands in the top ten sought “resident participation in planning and spending decisions”, “evidence-based policy making” and “transparency on tendering/procurement contracts and past relationships with contractors.” They each garnered at least 85 percent support in the poll.
The second most popular ask was for the city to make it “easier to set up community gardens, farmers’ markets and urban farms”. That got support from eight of the nine participating councillors, with the sole exception being Doug Conley, the new Stoney Creek representative who chose “neutral” on that item.
Number three in the platform pushes brownfield remediation including recouping costs from “offending industries”. It may be particularly relevant during the next four-year term of council when decisions will likely be required on the future of the former Stelco lands and how those costs will be balanced with the half billion dollars expected to be required to service the aerotropolis.
“Safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and abilities” ranked fourth with residents who voted on the platform who gave this plank 87 percent support. It was a bit less popular with councillors: five expressed strong agreement, two others chose “agree” and two picked “neutral” – Scott Duvall and Doug Conley.
There were also two “neutral” votes cast by participating councillors (Green and Conley) on the demand for resident participation in planning and spending decisions and only two “strongly agree” (Johnson and Farr). The number 10 plank calling for evidence-based policy making had three “neutral” votes – from Duvall, Pearson and Vanderbeek – but also strong agreement from Mayor Eisenberger and Matthew Green.
Doug Conley also took the “neutral” option for the fifth most popular plank – protecting and honouring local heritage – and he cast the only “no opinion” position among the nine participating councillors – neglecting to respond to the call for transparency of contracts and tendering.
Making it easier to start and operate a small business ranked sixth among those who voted, and won agreement or strong agreement from all nine participating councillors.
2014 Hamilton Civic Election Results
| Ward | Elected | Turnout | Winner % | % of Voters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aidan Johnson | 40.74% | 34.69% | 14.13% |
| 2 | Jason Farr | 29.04 | 66.35 | 19.27 |
| 3 | Matthew Green | 29.59 | 40.72 | 12.05 |
| 4 | Sam Merulla | 29.87 | 82.49 | 24.64 |
| 5 | Chad Collins | 33.64 | 71.58 | 24.08 |
| 6 | Tom Jackson | 35.15 | 80.83 | 28.41 |
| 7 | Scott Duvall | 31.75 | 79.12 | 25.12 |
| 8 | Terry Whitehead | 36.29 | 76.54 | 27.78 |
| 9 | Doug Conley | 34.20 | 26.17 | 8.95 |
| 10 | Maria Pearson | 37.40 | 58.03 | 21.70 |
| 11 | Brenda Johnson | 33.61 | 83.45 | 28.05 |
| 12 | Lloyd Ferguson | 35.90 | 78.75 | 28.27 |
| 13 | Arlene Vanderbeek | 43.79 | 42.56 | 18.64 |
| 14 | Robert Pasuta | 33.41 | 85.38 | 28.53 |
| 15 | Judi Partridge | 27.58 | 69.23 | 19.09 |
| Mayor | Fred Eisenberger | 34.02 | 39.93 | 13.58 |