Brampton Election 2018 - Endorsements and Thoughts

Later this month, on October 22nd, voters across Ontario will cast ballots to elect representatives as part of the local and regional governments. I want to spend a little time looking at the local races here in Brampton, and sharing my own feelings. The Brampton elections are more interesting than normal given that there are a number of openings on council and serious challenges to incumbents.

I cannot cover all the candidates here, but here is an article that at least lists all of them. 

The biggest election in Brampton is the contest for mayor. Linda Jeffrey is seeking re-election. Her tenure of mayor has been difficult. Early on Jeffrey got in a massive disagreement with members of council. A majority voted against her on the Hurontario LRT and since that time she seemed to have lost the council. She is running on a fairly modest platform to improve safety, keep taxes at the same rate, and be a good steward for the future.

Jeffrey's primary competition, as far as I can tell, is from Patrick Brown. I'm not going to pretend to be unbiased here, I think if Brampton elects Brown as mayor it'll be a humiliation for the city. Brown was running for Peel Regional Chair before the position's election was eliminated by Doug Ford. Brown was the former leader of the Progressive Conservatives until he was pushed out by scandal. He is from Barrie and a lifelong politician. His platform is fairly boilerplate, and so it becomes about personality, and I don't think Brown can be trusted.

Two other prominent candidates in the race are Baljit Gosal and John Sprovieri. Gosal is a former Conservative MP for Brampton. His prominence and name recognition makes him stand out, but I do not believe he has found much traction in the race. Similarly, Sprovieri has been a long-time councillor in Brampton. He was a vocal critic of Jeffrey, however he is seen by many to be out-of-touch and insensitive.

I'll be voting for Linda Jeffrey. I found I agreed with her more often than not in her term and her opponents either do not seem credible or are unacceptable to me.

One of the biggest races this time around will be in Wards 1 and 5. Brampton combines two wards for the purposes of elections. Grant Gibson and Elaine Moore are both retiring, creating vacancies and fierce competition. Eleven candidates are running for city council, and six for regional council. An interesting twist in this election is that Rowena Santos and Paul Vicente are running as 'a team'. Their signs are often on lawns together and I've seen them campaigning together. I have met with Santos and Vicente prior to the election at political events. I like the progressive agenda they are presenting.

In wards 2 and 6 the incumbents, Doug Whillans and Michael Paul Palleschi are seeking re-election. Given the benefits of incumbency I would expect both to be safely returned to office.

In wards 3 and 4, my area of town, the incumbents may both be facing stiff competition. City Councillor Jeff Bowman faces challenger Harpreet Singh Hansra, a local activist along with five other challengers. I've seen significant support for Hansra in the neighbourhood, so Bowman may be up for a fight. I think Bowman has been a good councillor, but I do not think I agree with him on the issues.

Despite my disagreements with some of Bowman's positions over the last few years I know that he is a thoughtful voice on issues. He was opposed to Jeffrey on key votes, but I trust he thought through his choices. Also, many of his challengers don't even have websites.

The more dramatic contest in 3 and 4 is between Regional Councillor Martin Medeiros and former Councillor John Sanderson. Sanderson ran against Jeffrey for mayor in 2014 and lost. In the four years since he has been a strong, outside critic of her mayoralty. Medeiros is a staunch supporter of Jeffrey on council, so the election has significant importance. Three other candidates are running but these two veterans seem to be dominating.

I voted for Sanderson for mayor in 2014, however, the aftermath of the campaign and his opposition to progressive transit and other policies bothered me. I'll be casting my ballot for Medeiros. I've dealt with him on a couple of issues that I've raised and he has been a strong local representative in that regard.

In wards 7 and 8 long-time councillor Gael Miles is retiring and the city councillor Pat Fortini is running for her spot on city council. So, Fortini is sort of the incumbent here. Fortini will have to overcome three other candidates to become replace Miles. One of the candidates is Bruce Marshall. I've met Bruce on a number of occasions and have found him to be a thoughtful, direct man. If I lived in wards 7 and 8 I would be voting for him.

The city council spot vacated by Fortini has nine challengers. One, interestingly enough is Martin Singh, former NDP candidate in 2015. Karla Bailey, if I'm not mistaken, has run before, and I like the experience in the community she brings to the table.

Last, but not least, wards 9 and 10. Sprovieri's run for mayor creates an opening and city councillor Gurpreet Dhillon took the opportunity to challenge for his former seat. I've really appreciated what Dhillon has brought to Brampton's City Hall. I without reservation would endorse him to become the regional councillor. He will have to overcome Vicky Dhillon, who lost to Gurpreet in 2014.

For the city council spot the current Peel District School Board trustee is running, Harkirat Singh. The rest are relative unknowns, so Singh has an advantage there.

I unfortunately cannot do the school board races. It's just too much to sift through and this post is long enough. I want to comment that overall I have been disappointed by the issues-content of this election. Aside from a recent series of crimes that has made policing and safety the top priority few other topics seem to be on the table. Many candidates are running on a soft "keep taxes low, bring in business, make small investments" platform. It is not particularly inspiring. Few are offering any sort of bold vision, and those who stretch seem to be missing touch with reality.

Best of luck, voters of Brampton, make good choices for the coming vote!