Ward 15 candidates cite growth, affordability as top issues ahead of Hamilton election
The six contenders for the Flamborough and Waterdown seat are focusing on infrastructure and managing rapid residential expansion.
HAMILTON — Six candidates are vying for the Ward 15 seat on Hamilton city council, with infrastructure, affordability and managing rapid growth among the top issues in the Flamborough and Waterdown area.
Incumbent councillor Ted McMeekin, 78, is being challenged by Chase Alford, Mary Kovacs, Colleen Stewart, Zac Wrobel and Jeff Yaeger in the Oct. 26 municipal election.
"We’re living in a tariff-riddled economy with many adult children living in the basement of a parental home wondering if they will ever be able to afford to purchase their own home," McMeekin said in a candidate questionnaire from CBC Hamilton.
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McMeekin, a former Ontario housing minister, said the ward is the fastest-growing community in Hamilton, which presents challenges for providing new schools, business investment and parks.
He said more than $350 million in capital infrastructure investments have been made in or committed to Ward 15 over the last four years.
McMeekin said he has spent most of his career living and working in Waterdown and Flamborough, previously running an award-winning bookstore, serving as mayor of the former Town of Flamborough and serving five terms as an MPP and Ontario cabinet minister.
Chase Alford, who moved to Waterdown in 2001, said his priorities include infrastructure, fair taxation, community safety and environmental conservation.
At a Cable 14 debate, Alford described himself as a "project manager and a scientist first" and said one reason he is running is concern that Flamborough land could be used for a future AI data centre, which he opposes.
According to his website, Alford built his career "managing large-scale agricultural production across New Brunswick and Chatham Kent."
"The most urgent challenges facing Ward 15 include geographic isolation and hidden economic distress," said candidate Mary Kovacs.
Kovacs, 67, a child and family advocate and Acorn member, said she has spent more than 24 years working as an "independent community advocate," focusing on child and youth poverty mitigation, pension security and systemic disability accessibility.
She said fixed-income families, seniors and residents with disabilities face severe transit isolation, cutting them off from downtown infrastructure, healthcare and employment.
"Gaps in our municipal transit network actively cut vulnerable residents off from dense downtown infrastructure, healthcare, employment, and youth recreational hubs," Kovacs said.
"I will advocate for targeted municipal investments to bridge the gap between our suburban/rural layout and downtown resources," she said.
Her priorities include expanding transit infrastructure, enhancing funding for low-income subsidized recreation passes, and pushing for localized community food security infrastructure.
Kovacs said she used a generative AI assistant tool to help structure and edit her campaign responses for the questionnaire to ensure professional clarity and alignment with her official platform statements.
The city's website describes Ward 15 as primarily rural but including light industrial and commercial land and the urban area of Waterdown.
It stretches from the Niagara Escarpment and Burlington boundary in the southeast to the Mountsberg Conservation Area and the boundary with Halton Region and Wellington County in the northwest.
The ward features Waterdown, one of Hamilton’s fastest-growing residential areas, and Joe Sams Leisure Park, with amenities like baseball diamonds, soccer fields, trails and an off-leash dog park.
McMeekin said opportunities for rural and farm economic development need to be emphasized, noting the agri-food industry contributes $53 billion to Ontario’s GDP and employs over 900,000 people.
"Controlling the costs of providing housing is pivotal to the provision of housing units and the protection of thousands of ‘blue collar’ construction jobs," McMeekin said.
Information on candidates Colleen Stewart, Zac Wrobel and Jeff Yaeger was not included in the reporting notes provided.
With files from CBC News