Election round up; what things look like on a ward by ward basis. Some upsets possible.

News 100 redBy Staff

April 17, 2014

BURLINGTON, ON.

Just over six months to go before the people of Burlington cast ballots for the city council they want to lead them though an uncertain future.

What is surprising to many is that just Meed Ward and Mayor Goldring have filed nomination papers.  Ward 6 candidate Mina Wahidi believes the incumbents should have filed their papers the first day.  Mayor Goldring did just that.

Catherine Henshell has her eye on the council seat for Ward1

Catherine Henshell has her eye on the council seat for Ward1

Ward 1: Incumbent Rick Craven said at a recent council meeting that he expects to be back at the horseshoe next November – he has won consistently in that ward in the past and Aldershot has certainly done well by Craven.  Too early to tell if Craven has a race on his hands. Catherine Henshell and Jason Boelhouwer are going after the same council seat.

Ward 2: Councillor Meed Ward has this sewn up.  The only circumstance that will find someone else in that seat is if Meed Ward decides this is the time for her to run for Mayor.

Ward 3: John Taylor is in for as long as he wants to be a member of city council.  Lisa Cooper is running against Taylor – again.

wev

John Sweeney began to turn up at public meetings once he nominated himself for the Ward 4 council seat.

Ward 4 has three candidates who have filed papers.  John Sweeney is the most visible with Steve Kempf and Alexadre Kubrick in the race.  Don Baxter doesn`t like the look of any of the ward 4 horses in the race. ” I am hoping we see a solid slate of candidates for Ward 4. I am encouraging potential candidates to throw their hat into the ring. While neighbourhood protection is a key issue for Roseland Community Organization, being a Councillor also requires an understanding of the complexity of municipal government – sometimes, looking in at city hall with your nose pressed against the window, the board game looks like checkers but the game is really chess.” 

Incumbent Jack Dennison has traditionally waited until June each election year to file and then works full time at getting re-elected.  Many believe Dennison is waiting for the outcome of his OMB hearing before deciding if he still wants to be a politician.

Ward 5: While Councillor Paul Sharman has yet to file his nomination papers he has a “re-election” website up and running.  Not much on the web site, found at https://www.paulsharman.ca/  

We asked Councillor Sharman if it was appropriate to have a re-election web site visible before filing nomination papers.  Sharman said he didn’t have a web site up.  But – it’s there.  The picture is dated but the words re-elect are very clear.

The race in the ward is looking like a two man race with incumbent Paul Sharman tangling ever so politely with candidate James Smith while Smith does a delegation on a development in the word.  We’ve heard nothing from the other nominated candidate – Ian Simpson; we expect to interview him later in the month.

Wahidi - good straight lookWard 6:  This is going to be the interesting race.   Vanessa Warren appears to be the odds on favourite with Mina Wahidi working hard at the door to door level.  We have yet to see Wahidi at any of the Council meetings.  Angelo Bentivegna is working the various groups he is involved with.  Not a word from James Curran who we understand has some “baggage” that is slowing down the rate at which his train is able to move.

Angelo B + biscotti wide

Angelo Bentivegna filed nomination papers in March -has been planning his campaign since last December.

Expect things to become much clearer by the middle of June.  Anyone hoping to break into city council would need a very high profile to overcome the lead that incumbents get just for being there.

There are a couple of wards that need a change – but that`s a decision voters make.  Informed voters is the best thing the city has going for it.

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3 comments to Election round up; what things look like on a ward by ward basis. Some upsets possible.

  • greg.fabian

    Could someone please explain why we have to endure 6-8 months of electioneering in municipal politics?

    Federal and provincial elections are not that long (at least not officially; unofficial yes, as the electioneering begins long before a writ is dropped)

    Aside from the constant bombardment of annoying politico speak, and boring rhetoric I have always thought about what happens just as stated above: “Incumbent Jack Dennison has traditionally waited until June each election year to file and then works full time at getting re-elected”.

    So, while “working full time to get re-elected” incumbents are not doing their job they are paid to do, and in fact have a leg up on new candidates who may already have a full time job to attend to. I have noticed this at all levels of politics, including provincial and federal, where in the unofficial lead up to an election they are busy running around the province/country trying to get elected and not doing the job of running the country/province/constituency.

    Editor’s note: The province runs the municipal world. They determine when an election can start and they also determine the point at which a municipal council basically loses all its power. There is a point at which a council cannot spend beyond a specific amount. In the past some municipal councils have been exceedingly irresponsible and have spent like drunken sailors – sop the province put in tight rules. Have municipalities grown up and become more responsible? Some have but not all of them.

  • Samantha

    Interesting that you fail to mention Councillor Lancaster in your review of Ward 6. Ward 6 is now huge and has grown to the point where it is almost impossible for one councillor to serve it. Ward 6 now includes Alton and the ever developing Appleby Line.

    Perhaps it is time for the city to revisit the ward boundaries. Maybe an additional ward is needed. Wards 1 and 6 are so much larger than Ward 2 which is tiny in comparison. It is no wonder Meed Ward looks like a superstar although to be fair she does have the largest collection of NIMBY’s to deal with.

  • Roger

    As usual – Councillor Sharman being as honest and direct – I looked the website in the article – as clear it say RE-ELECT – guess the question was not clear enough (?). James Smith will represent Ward 5 well while Councillor Sharman considers his other opportunities – maybe replacing Jeff Fielding