Ward 9: Gridlock, crime and a stinky landfill, what candidates had to say about the ward’s top issues
by Aura Carreño Rosas · CBC News
Road infrastructure, crime, and a landfill that has been stinking up neighbourhoods since 2023 were top-of-mind issues in responses from councillor candidates in Hamilton’s Ward 9.
Brad Clark has held the seat consecutively since 2018 but was also ward councillor from 2006 to 2014. Four other candidates are also vying for the seat.
Located in Upper Stoney Creek, Ward 9 sits south of the escarpment, north of the hydro corridor and South Townline Road, east of the Red Hill Valley Parkway and west of Grimsby, Ont. Around 80 per cent of Ward 9 is made up of agricultural land. Lands in the ward are also involved in the decision by the Ontario Land Tribunal that states Hamilton needs to expand its urban boundary. A controversial move after the city’s years-long fight to keep its current boundary. Ward 9 has a higher population of children than the rest of the city. It also has a higher average household income ($127,900) compared to Hamilton ($108,700), as well as higher Catholic and Muslim populations.
Since 2023, residents of the ward have described smells coming from a GFL facility as wet garbage, cat urine, fishy and chemical. The smells have been permeating neighbourhoods on a regular basis since then. Lawsuits against the dump from its neighbours allege the smell has prevented home owners and other residents from using their “backyards, opening windows, and enjoying everyday activities.” The landfill issue was one of the most prevalent among candidates.
Brad Clark, 66, is the current councillor for Ward 9. He has held the seat since 2018 and before that from 2006 to 2014. He ran for mayor and lost to Fred Eisenberger in 2014. Clark was also a Progressive Conservative member of Provincial Parliament. He was minister of transportation and minister of labour. He pointed to his experience as both councillor and in provincial government when asked what sets his apart from other candidates
“My knowledge of the municipal act, provincial legislation, bylaws, policies coupled with my voracious research, probing questions and my respected working relationships with senior staff and councillors has enabled me to keep getting things done for my residents in Ward 9,” he said.
What are the most urgent issues or challenges the ward you’re running in is facing?
Traffic, gridlock at Trinity Church, Rymal Road and [Upper Red Hill Valley Parkway]. Street racing, gun violence, drugs, and young people being lured into criminal activity, end the GFL Landfill odours.
How would you address these issues?
Extending the Upper Redhill Valley Parkway would go a long way to eliminating the gridlock caused by the street design with insufficient traffic spacing between Trinity Church, Rymal and URHVP.
I support more police officers on the beat in Ward 9. Gun, drug, and gang crime are citywide issues drawing too many young people into violence. We need more police outreach in schools before youth are lured or bullied into gangs.
Please let us know if you’ve used generative AI tools in any way in your responses.
No.
Hamilton Ward 9 councillor hopefuls spar over GFL dump, urban boundary
The Hamilton Spectator, by By Laura SebbenReporter
Ward 9 council candidates sparred over policing, urban boundary expansion and an infamously stinky landfill at a recent televised debate.
The Spectator and other media outlets partnered with Cable 14 to ask questions of incumbent candidate Brad Clark and four opponents seeking to unseat him in the Upper Stoney Creek ward, including Abhjeet Gill, Brad Stapleton, Jonathan Stathakos and Eileen Walker.
You can see Ward 9 candidate profiles and survey answers on The Spec’s election page. You can also watch the debate online.
GFL landfill
The candidates all agreed that the city needs to put more pressure on the province to fix the issues plaguing residents who live close to the dump, as the province has more oversight.
Gill said, if elected, he would call for more testing to be done for soil and ground water around the landfill.
Walker said she wants to push the province to look for an alternate dump site.
Things got heated when candidates confronted Clark, a longtime municipal politician, over what they described as a lack of action on his part over the landfill.
“You’re the reason it’s there in the first place,” Walker alleged.
“That’s absolute nonsense,” Clark rebutted.
“You claim to be the voice of this community on this file, but I talked to the people with the province and they have not heard of you before,” said Stathakos, a claim an incredulous Clark dismissed.
Council supported Clark’s motion late last year to go to court seeking to force a closure of the facility, but the matter has yet to be heard.
Urban boundary expansion
The Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) recently decided that Hamilton’s urban boundary must expand, despite council’s decision to freeze it. One of the expected target areas for new development is the Elfrida area in Ward 9.
Stathakos said the city wasted money trying to fight against “a battle they knew they were going to lose,” instead of preparing for expansion.
Gill said should expansion come, roads in the ward need to be adjusted and traffic-calming measures, like roundabouts and other speed deterrents, should be looked into ahead of an increase in residents.
Stapleton said the city should prioritize “employment lands,” so there can be more businesses near any new homes.
Policing
All ward candidates agreed that a larger police presence is needed in a region home to more than 40,000 people.
However, they disagreed over whether a substation is needed.
A former police sergeant, Stapleton said money should be redirected to officers in the field, as well as for traffic enforcement.
Walker, a former justice of the peace, and Abhijeet Gill agreed that police are lacking in the area and having boots on the ground provides a good deterrent for would-be criminals or speedsters. But a substation would be unnecessarily costly, they said.
Clark said he’s spoken to Hamilton’s police chief who also thinks another station is a waste of money and suggested more patrol officers would make a difference.
Stathakos was the lone holdout, arguing a substation would allow more police to be active in the region if they had a “place to call home.”
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https://bayobserver.ca/clark-motion-would-have-city-go-to-court-over-gfl-landfill-odour-issue/
Brad Clark motion for more openness about third-party agreements has council support
Bay Observer, John Best = October 10, 2024
Brad Clark motion for more openness about third-party agreements has council support – bayobserver.ca Hamilton, Burlington and GTA Bay Observer, John Best = October 10, 2024
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https://globalnews.ca/news/9619603/hamilton-state-of-emergency-homelessness-addiction
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City moves to set up complaints process for people using Hamilton’s shelter system
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https://www.cbc.ca/author/desmond-brown-1.4738689 · Posted: Apr 08, 2022 8:32
