Ward 13: Long-time incumbent wants to preserve past while lone challenger craves change

CBC Hamilton asked all candidates running for Hamilton city council to share their priorities and speak to an issue that stands out to them as needing to be addressed in their ward. Their answers are left here in full, with lightediting only for spelling/grammar. For the candidates who did not answer the CBC Hamilton questionnaire, information has been drawn from their websites, when possible. All of CBC Hamilton'selection coverage can be found here.

Ward 13 residents will have to choose between an incumbent councillor who is most focused on preserving the unique qualities of theDundas and Flamborough area, anda candidate who is putting his focus toward the environment.

"Preserve the past ... protect the future," is one of long-time incumbent Arlene VanderBeek's mottos, according to her website.

"Our Community. Our Future," is candidate Alex Wilson's slogan on his website.

The ward is in the Dundas Valley and is bordered by the Dundas municipal boundary to the east, Highway 8 along the southern border, Hamilton city limits along Gore Road to the west, and Highway 6 and Milgrove Sideroad to the north.

The ward is home toAfrican Lion Safari, Westfield Heritage Village, Dundas Valley School of Art, the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, a large section of the Royal Botanical Gardens, and Cootes Paradise.

It'salso home to several rural settlement areas such as Freelton, Kirkwall, Rockton and Greensville.

The city website states there are35,365 residents in the ward. The residents tend to be more educated and less diverse compared to the rest of the municipality.

The average household income is $113,930 compared to the city average of$87,775.

Voter turnout in the ward is 43.6 per cent compared to the city average of 38.4 per cent.

VanderBeekwas the councillor of Dundas pre-amalgamation and worked alongside then-councillor Russ Powers until he retired. She became Ward 13 councillor in 2014.

She has since opposedexpanding the urban boundary, supported light-rail transit, and supported fighting a court injunction that wouldprevent the city from dismantling a downtownencampment.

She previously faced criticismforapproving the sale of an unassumedlanewaythat connected a school to a day care centre. A developer who's done city work bought it for $2.

Here's more on the candidates for Ward 13.

Arlene VanderBeek

Aside from her political achievements, VanderBeekdescribes herself on her website as a lifelong resident of Dundas and former business owner.

She's the current chair of Dundas Community Services, chair of the Downtown Dundas BIA Board of Management andsits on 27 additional board and committees within the city and the ward.

Her website states she's focused on economic diversification, affordable housing, affordable public transit and safer streets, among others things.

Alex Wilson

Wilson, 25, describes himself as a the legislative assistant toSandy Shaw, the NDP Member of Provincial Parliament forHamilton WestAncasterDundas.

Describe one pressing issue facing your ward and what you'd do about it:Resilient Neighbourhoods: We need local, community-driven solutions for the problems which we are facing. Flooding continues to impact many residents of Ward 13, something which will only get worse if we fail to act now to address these vulnerabilities. At the same time, many areas of our city are vulnerable to the urban heat island effect, where a lack of urban canopy results in ambient temperatures as much as 5 C, causing significant health impacts for older adults and people with disabilities, particularly during heat waves. I am committed to investing building up the resiliency of our neighbourhoods and ensuring our city prioritizes equity in every stage of this work.

Name up to 3 policies you'd put forward or support if elected:First, I will create Ward 13 Youth Councils for elementary students and secondary school students in Ward 13. Second, free transit for seniors, youth, and low-income residents.By increasing existing fare subsidy programs we can start by providing fare free transit to primary and secondary school students, residents aged 60 and up, and low income residents. These are important demographics for increasing ridership, which in turn increases provincial gas tax funding that can be re-invested in our transit system. Third, protecting tenants: We can better protect tenants in our community by creating local regulations to protect tenants from renoviction and demovictions, introducing an extreme heat bylaw to protect tenants from extreme heat events, and expanding landlord licensing across the city to ensure renters are protected from substandard housing conditions by ensuring that the city's property standards bylaws are enforced and that there are proactive inspections, to which landlords can be held accountable.

School board trustees

The candidates for school board trustees in the area are:

Public school candidates:

• Larry Masters
• Paul Tut (incumbent)

Catholic school candidates:

• Phil Homerski(incumbent)
• Ricky Tavares

For more of CBC Hamilton's electioncoverage:

• How to vote in Hamilton's 2022 municipal election
• OPINION | In Hamilton, real estate is the new art
• Here's why Hamilton's mayoral candidates think you should vote for them
• Here's the final list of who's running for mayor and council in Hamilton this year