By Pepper Parr
October 31st, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
The election in wards 2, 4 and 5 were somewhat different than they were in 1, 3 and 6 – where there was thought to be a turnover.
Turned out that not one of them turned over – the incumbents got back with solid pluralities.
In wards 2 and five there was little doubt that the incumbent would hold the seat.
Lisa Kearns, Councillor for ward 2. Don’t ask what she is handing out. One of the photo ops – that’s all you need to know.
Despite Lisa Kearns’ “inadvertent” blurting out of information that was seen as highly confidential she did very well. Paul Sharman was never in doubt – he should have been acclaimed and saved everyone the bother.
The candidates that ran against him were poorly organized and didn’t manage to get any traction.
Ward 4 was a different situation. The incumbent was at risk but the polling numbers show that the three candidates did not catch any of the public imagination in the ward.
Stolte is back as the ward Councillor. The dynamics of future council meetings will be different. The shameful behaviour on the part of the Mayor and the way the rest of Council lost their tongues is not something that is going to be forgotten.
This last year of their term of office for the outgoing council was nothing to be proud of. There were failures at several levels on the administrative side – this is just not the way a civilized city council operates.
The little bit that has been heard about what might have changed is not encouraging.
The Gazette has said all it has to say about Stolte and the Integrity issues. The degree to which is impacted the opinion of those who voted.
The 73% of the voters that decided not to bother voting is not healthy; the result is they now have a council they may not have wanted once they see what things look like in a year.
Mayor Meed Ward with what is probably the last diesel bus the city will take delivery of – the future is not known yet – electrical or hydrogen?
There will be a lot of bad news, some expensive news. It is going to take a council that works as a team to get through the changes the provincial government threw at them the day after the election. It is going to take a lot of faith when the public learns how big an increase they are going to have to bear.
Transit faces some major issues. Diesel is out; is it going to be electric or hydrogen.
All the public has heard from the Mayor is that she wants to work a deal with Hamilton over the LaSalle Park property. Just extend the lease and wait for a better day to resolve an issue that isn’t going to make as much as a pinch of difference to anyone in the city.
Dealing with an Ontario Land Tribunal that is going to be given a different set of rules – none appear to offer any benefit to the municipal sector.
The beating the Conservation Authorities are taking is troubling. Does Burlington face the risk of seeing the urban boundary moved north of Hwy 5 (Dundas) and the 407?
The 25 year Strategic Plan is due for an update as well
There was never any doubt that Lisa Kearns was going to be returned. The question is – will it be a new and improved Lisa or the same old.
The vote that Shawna Stolte had held. Olivia Duke could have done much better, perhaps run, if she had started more than a year ago. Why Burlington is made up of people who think they can put together a campaign six months before an election and win defies understanding. What is going to be carefully watched is how the relationship between the Mayor and Stolte works out.
How do you explain the results: The candidates didn’t stand a chance. Sharman can be beaten by not by last minute candidates who put up a poor campaign with no team in place.
Related new story
What were the numbers like at the Mayoralty level
“The 73% of the voters that decided not to bother voting is not healthy; the result is they now have a council they may not have wanted once they see what things look like in a year.”
The 73% don’t get to complain. They couldn’t be bothered to vote so they have to accept what they got.
Do you know if Kearns opponents are filing complaints with the Integrity Commissioner now that the blackout period is over?
When you label something as news, and not opinion, I expect there to be facts presented. Yet you’re curiously missing facts in here for a lot of claims. What does Sharman have on you for this kind of love – to the point you wish democracy away in his favour? For many of us, he is absolute rubbish at his job. There was a story there about his 18 out of 20 donations being from developers or related to development, there was a story about him not serving his ward equally, and a story about him giving out a citizen’s private information while being petty and yet you continue to ignore it. I wonder, will the Integrity Commissioner ignore it too? Or does that only matter when it’s Kearns that’s facing consequences? Your bias is showing, Mr. Parr, and I sincerely hope that Burlington Today is the competition needed to help you find some journalistic integrity.