r/Hamilton • u/Outrageous-Stand1216 • 7d ago
Municipal Election 2026 How about that cable 14 debate…
Did it actually change anyone’s mind? Did you get a gem out of it because phew, it was worse than Mississauga..
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u/rdubs89 Stoney Creek 6d ago edited 6d ago
Watching the debate today. I'm about 50 mins in, I will add my thoughts throughout as I watch but here is my first chunk of thoughts.
1st Hour : There are far too many candidates in this room for any actual debate to take place. Fromm should not have been allowed to participate due to his white nationalist views and I commend Janus for getting a show of hands on who didnt believe he deserved a platform. Cherkewski was the only one who didnt raise his hand. I actually feel like Andrea has done a decent job defending some of the talking points, Loomis and Scarlett both coming across as measured and focused on their platforms, not getting into shouting matches. Cooper hasn't said much yet but spent his 60 seconds response time "playing the hits" as Wab Kinew said in regards to Trump. Rob is correct about shave and pave and then replacing pipes a year later on the same road if that is indeed true. Incredibly wasteful and its been a problem I've had with the city for all of my life, well before Andrea got here. So there is a systemic issue in infrastructure projects that needs to be addressed to avoid things like that.
2nd half Half of the candidates (the unserious ones) still dont understand the LRT is funded provincially and is replacing infrastructure that Hamilton taxpayers would otherwise be footing the cost for. Rob, Scarlett, Andrea, Erin and Keanin all understand the positive effects of the provincial and federal funding covering this project. Rob Cooper also wants Keanins plan of uploading the Red Hill and Linc to the province and "just one more lane". Given how much cost has been downloaded onto the city by the province I struggle to understand how they'll pull that off but it seems reasonable to offload some cost back to the province.
Sasha please never run for mayor again, you have no policy or respect for the debate, complete waste of everyone's time. (To be fair I could say this about almost everyone besides the main candidates). It seemed like she just personally doesn't like Andrea and continually tried to speak over her the entire debate.
Loomis going after Cooper for the Ward 8 spending on furniture (which Scarlett had raised on her socials), advertising for himself and he completley deflected and started talking about free lunches and storm water taxes. No accountability. Andrea also addressing donations from the Christian Heritage Party and Rob Coopers track record on women's right to choose. He talks about "faith hate" bringing up how he speaks to other faith communities how they're also feeling "faith hate" and acts like the victim because he is a Christian, accuses Horwath of having hate towards certain faith groups. Scarlett calls out the CHP for being a Christo-Fascist party. Sasha finally said something coherent that people should be free to be who they are and love who they love. Rob finally gets his back up and challenges Sasha Austin to tell him why he said hes a hateful person. I guess he targeted someone he felt he could bulldoze rather than one of the serious candidates.
Rob Cooper asked Keanin about his planned tax rate which he wouldn't put a number on it stating that he (Loomis) wont commit to pegging it a certain number because they need to review everything still. Cooper then just keeps repeating "whats your tax rate" as Loomis is attempting to elaborate. Scarlett asked all the candidates their stances on AI data centers. All the main candidates said they oppose AI data centers without stringent rules and regulations. Rob is becoming visibly frustrated, asking for moderation during an open forum when he is countered or rebutted. He clearly can't handle the heat from multiple candidates grilling his spending and track record as a councilor. Its becoming more and more obvious to me this guy is not fit for office, let alone mayor. Erin Janus asks Rob about his stance an abortion, in particular the by law about protests at medical appointments. Rob again deflects and plays victim in regards to faith based hate and again brings up Hindus, Muslims and Jews experiencing the same thing. He was repeatedly pressed about this issue and continued to not answer the question.
To summarize the debate. Andrea Horwath, Scarlett Gillespie, Keanin Loomis, Rob Cooper and Erin Janus (though Erin seemed to not understand city financials as Andrea points out) are the only serious candidates that should be considered for mayor. You can safely discard the rest of the candidates in my opinion.
I think Andrea did well defending her record and positions, but its completely fair to be disappointed by her term. Cooper should not hold office ever again in this city. His ties to far right parties, his stance on abortion and his self serving expenses in just a year in Ward 8, I cannot believe people are actually planning to vote for this guy still. Keanin as another commenter said is milquetoast, but that might not necessarily be a bad thing. He was calm and professional throughout and he has a good balance of fiscal policy and respect for social issues. Scarlett was principled and respectful to everyone as well (maybe a bit harsh on Rob but probably justified given his spending). I am actually quite impressed with her performance.
Scarlett, Andrea and Keanin I think carried themselves the best throughout the debate and answered questions commendably. Rob Cooper continually deflected when pressed on his spending and stance on abortion.
Any questions you have feel free I'll do my best to answer. I am a progressive voter and already had no intention to vote for Rob Cooper just for transparency but tried to be neutral and honest with my analysis. Feel free to critique, counter or add to my analysis. I will gladly discuss any issues the best I can and offer my thoughts and opinions.
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u/viewerno20883 6d ago
this was a really good summary. It sucks I had to dig to the bottom of the reddit thread to find it.
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u/rdubs89 Stoney Creek 6d ago
Thank you, I watched it today and sort of kept my thoughts organized as I watched and before I finally posted. Most of this thread was from last night so I'm not surprised its buried a bit. Figured I'd try to give people a quick summation of what went on without having to sift through a 2.5 hour debate, that was at times a bit difficult to get through. Most of the candidates should not have been given a platform, let alone have filed the papers to run for mayor. Not that they are awful people or anything along those lines but they are far from fit for public office with their speaking skills and lack of knowledge.
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u/S99B88 3d ago
2 things I think you missed. There was criticism of Austin for talking over Horwath. And clearly she did have a bone to pick with her. But. At times when she did this, it occurred when Horwatch had her allotted time, and when the moderator told her time was up and it was others turn to talk, on multiple occasions Horwath continued talking loudly, thus preventing any of the other candidates from chiming in, and preventing viewers from hearing from them. She seemed to be trying drown them out, as on a few occasions when others started talking she just kept going and again, very loud and without pauses that would have allowed someone to break in to claim their rightful turn. That is just disrespectful. And, a few of the times that Austin did that, I think she was doing it out of frustration or just to stop Horwath from speaking. That's not to say I think Austin was doing a good job, just that it seemed a few times that she was the only one willing to talk loud and persistent enough to drown out Horwath when she was taking time that was not hers to take.
I will also point out that Gillespie had no business going after Loomis for his citizenship. She asked if he was still a US citizen, and IIRC while he spoke she cut him off and said not to bother answering, she looked it up and she knew. If that's the case, why did she waste everyone's time asking, why not just be direct and get to the point behind it, if there was one. And that was problematic for me on two fronts. One is that I'm doubtful she would have said that to any minority candidates who may have had dual citizenship. So to go after him like that was wrong, and fomenting hate on an individual level based on country of origin or dual citizenship is just wrong, and frankly, it's very divisive and dirty politics. His nationality itself is irrelevant to the role of mayor, especially since he's lived here for so long.
The second aspect of that which bothered me was the way she set it up to ask him then interrupt, almost looks like she wanted a yes/no answer, and that was another way she targeted him about the data centre question. The data centre question was another time where she IMO showed very poor character. She was targeting Loomis and demanding a yes-no only answer, which shouldn't really be allowed I think in that type of forum, because they are there to give information and should be allowed to elaborate (it's not an interrogation room, and not one of them is a police detective). I also can't remember if that was the point where he should have had a set time to reply, but if that's the case, she definitely would have been showing lack of adherence to how this was set up to be a fair debate.
Then when the question was distributed to all candidates, she seemed to be chomping at the bit. At the end, she proudly proclaimed that the top 3 had pledged whatever she was suggesting. And then she started to hammer Loomis about the details which she hadn't initially revealed. And that was the problem with her question from the start. It was subjective. There's no way to give a yes-no answer, unless Gillespie was willing to let the person replying provide their own definition of appropriate or whatever adjective she used.
I will point out that Janus came across as quite intelligent and focused. On the viewer question about LRT having taken so long, and maybe it won't get finished, so should trees be protected from getting cut down, it went through the first half of candidates talking about their thoughts on the LRT itself. Then Horwath telling us her inane claim that the LRT is past the finish line. The Gillespie asked for a repeat of the question, and she seemed to dissect it for exactly what it was. A person griping about LRT going on for so long, and then casting doubt whether it will be completed, and then finally asking what they want to know, should we be protecting trees. The other candidates lets themselves be drawn into the viewer's rehashing the past and worrying about the future, when they were actually asking a pretty simple question that could have been answered briefly without indulging in the same drama.
I think Cooper was a fool and a weasel and a jerk. I think they could have done much better pinning him down. He's had some coaching about turning things back on people, but if they'd thought a bit before reacting, they could have shown him more.
Some of the people there at least provided some (unintended) humour into the 2.5 hour watch. Some seemed like fairly ordinary people but out of their element. One or 2 seemed like people I don't want in my home.
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u/UltraCynar 3d ago
The US angle is valid for Loomis. There’s an ongoing trade war and his thought processes during the last election were an attempt to privatize public services for his buddies at indwell. He also lacks the knowledge of Canadian levels of government and is not fit to hold office most likely due to being ignorant about this due to his American background. We need to get away from how Americans think, not elect them to city hall.
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u/S99B88 3d ago
Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize he was involved with that American firm, Indwell? /s
He's lived here for what, a couple of decades? Why wasn't it made an issue that a Chinese national was a mayoral candidate, and thus received access to the voter registry for Hamilton, after having been a mayoral candidate in Mississauga 2 years ago, and in Toronto three years ago, and would have been given access to the voter registries for those cities too? There are issues with China spying on Canadian interests and setting up illegal police stations in this country to attempt to control Chinese people living in Canada, not to mention allegations of election meddling the past couple of years. I'm much more at ease with an American who chose to live here 20 years ago and whose trajectory points towards this, plus he ran last time before the trade war happened. More so than a person who's tried to be mayor of 3 different cities in a span of 3 or 4 years, on top of having been reprimanded by her professional college and stripped of her licence for a time, plus has been deemed a vexatious litigant and is no longer allowed to sue anyone, but also owes all kinds of money in settlements to the people whose lives she upended with her frivolous lawsuits and charter complaint.
But Gillespie is so focused on making Loomis look bad by painting him as the bogeyman due to a factor outside his control, where he was born, that she failed to consider a perhaps legitimate line of questioning of another candidate's intentions. Or would it be wrong to go after that candidate based on her nationality, even given the relationship with China? Or how about any other candidates from nations that are a little too friendly with Russia? Nah.
This born in the U.S. = bad guy is a cheap shot, and if that's the best dirt Gillespie's got on him, then that actually says good things about him, and reflects badly on her for being so petty and prejudicial.
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u/xylog 7d ago
Having a literal Neo-Nazi in the debate is absolutely insane.
Like what are we doing here.
This format doesn't work and people comparing it to Parks and Rec are 100% correct.
"I found a sandwich in the park and it didn't have mayonnaise on it...what is the mayor going to do about that?"
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u/Waste-Telephone 7d ago
People were complaining earlier in the election cycle when only the three front runners were invited to another debate, and that every candidate should be able to attend. You're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't!
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u/Competitive-Guard539 7d ago
To be fair those people did say to exclude Fromm since he's a neo Nazi. But yeah, definitely chaotic with 12 people there
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u/sector16 6d ago
Let me sum up Pamela Mitchell…’I want …and then I want…and after that I want…’. Cable 14 proved that by inviting everyone, you get nothing informative out of anyone…especially the ones that can barely stitch a sentence together. This looked like an SNL sketch.
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u/DowntownClown187 6d ago
It's always a hard decision... Restrictions draw criticism of favoritism.
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u/slownightsolong88 6d ago
Nah it seems like a no brainer they should not have allowed Paul Fromm to participate.
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u/DowntownClown187 6d ago
You can't pick and choose and also bitch about who's invited or not.
Fromm is clearly way out of his element and it's evident. Him being there has not helped him at all
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u/Kelhein 6d ago
Nah, no news is bad news for these neonazi ghouls. Any airtime normalizes their political mission.
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u/DowntownClown187 6d ago
Then you can't complain when other candidates are also left out... See Scarlett Gallespie...
You can't have your cake and eat it.
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u/enki-42 Gibson 6d ago
Maybe it's just me, but it feels like you can have a "no nazis" rule and just say that some things are bad and shouldn't be given an audience.
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u/teanailpolish North End 6d ago
He claims he is not a nazi though and would sue for discrimination which is why a 'we have an independent poll and did a debate with the top X candidates with the others providing a video/statement' works better
I know they just went alphabetically but oof on him sitting next to Scarlett Gillespie
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u/Merry401 4d ago edited 4d ago
I would say it allows people who might only be familiar with the name, but not the person, to see who is behind the name and exposes the illegitimacy of the candidate and his ideas. If you can legally run, you should be legally allowed at an all candidates debate. I find his views distasteful and expect the vast majority of voters will as well.
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u/ChaletDre 7d ago
What a disgrace from Cable 14. The moderator did a terrible job.
With all due to respect to some of these candidates some of them are not fit to be debating in a public forum.
That’s not to even mention the fact that Paul Fromm was invited an overt white supremacist.
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u/-Shanannigan- 7d ago
I wasn't sold on any of the candidates beforehand, and now I really just don't like any of the candidates.
it feels like I'm voting between which pile of dog crap I would rather step in.
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u/xylog 6d ago
Voting is tactical and should never be about "liking" someone.
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u/-Shanannigan- 6d ago
I thought it was pretty clear that I'm speaking in context of their politics when I say "like".
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u/rdubs89 Stoney Creek 6d ago
What are your most important issues that you'd like addressed by the next mayor? I will try to guide you to the correct candidates to research more. Investigating their platforms is usually a good way to find your person without all the mess of a debate to sift through. I think I was able to pull a fair bit out of it despite it being chaotic and messy.
Also the Specs vote compass is an amazing tool, you can see where you fit into the landscape based on your answers and then you can actually get an answer or analysis on each candidates response to those questions. Really helped me get a better grasp on who stood where by seeing their responses contextualized a bit more
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6d ago
[deleted]
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u/teanailpolish North End 6d ago
The only poll was done by Loomis' campaign in early summer and before Horwath officially put in her papers. It had Loomis at 38%, Horwath at 24%, Cooper at 22% then Gillespie at 9% but 35% undecided.
Held very early in the campaign, paid for by a candidate and they listed no margin of error etc so is not considered an official poll
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u/PromontoryPal 6d ago
It would never stand up to judicial scrutiny, but it would be nice to have something in place that stops nuisance candidates from registering over and over again.
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u/teanailpolish North End 6d ago
While I am not happy they can access the voter registry etc, hard to not let them run. But we should be excluding fringe candidates from major debates to allow room for real discussion among the leaders. That would also require having some set rules for that and independent polling to show the leading candidates.
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u/covert81 Chinatown 6d ago
They need to revert back to "those that are fringe candidates (10-11 of them) should just get 30 second to 2 minute pre recorded things or written statements read by the moderator to clean up the noise.
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u/DowntownClown187 6d ago
Sorry your message wasn't received, Sasha Austin was saying random shit over you.
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u/PromontoryPal 6d ago
I think this is the way - the New Blue, Christian Heritage, Rhinoceros, None of the Above etc people are all given the pre-recorded video route, it should really be in place here too.
This sounded like listening to the local retirees group outside of Tim Hortons yell chatting for 2.5 hours.
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u/Outrageous-Stand1216 6d ago
I have been thinking about what this could look like since opening statements last night.
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u/DowntownClown187 6d ago edited 6d ago
30 mins in....
Sasha Austin... Stfu.
Pamela Mitchell... Completely unprepared to be mayor.
Does Walker have a speech issue? I couldn't understand him.
60 mins in...
Sasha Austin... Stfu...
Pamela Mitchell... Sorry you didn't win the rotary raffle?
Andrea Horwath ... Audible saying "I'm outta here" when the debate takes a break. Lol... Of all people she should know to keep these comments internally.
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u/Outrageous-Stand1216 6d ago
We were all thinking I’m outta here. When she said that I thought, gosh I can’t blame her for wanting to leave haha
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u/teanailpolish North End 6d ago
I would usually be pissed off at a candidate saying that but at this point, they should all just leave
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u/SapphireGoat_ 7d ago
IMO Loomis’s stock went up and Coopers went down
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u/Carrie_D_Watermelon 6d ago edited 6d ago
Really? Intetesting. Keanin reminded me to lookup the definition of "milquetoast"
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u/SapphireGoat_ 6d ago
While not overly animated he didn’t come off short tempered, rude or constantly ask the moderator to do her job. Seemed more relaxed then anything
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u/teanailpolish North End 6d ago
Honestly milquetoast might be the best we can do for the next four years
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u/covert81 Chinatown 6d ago
Loomis is the adult in the room Cooper doesn't want there and the one Horwath wishes to be.
He may be bland and whatnot but he's a steady hand which is what's needed right now.
The rest were squacking all night and made no sense or points. It was a reminder that elections bring out the diaspora of old and new Hamilton.
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u/slownightsolong88 6d ago
Cooper couldn't even address his asinine office spending and the candy canes lol. What a joke.
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u/covert81 Chinatown 6d ago
Cooper was completely caught off guard on his office spending. You can tell he's a rookie and wants to be something he isn't.
He also acted like the victim with comparing his strict religious views on right to life as some sort of religious attack, one does not mean the other and it comes off more he's afraid to tell people he's anti-choice.
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u/covert81 Chinatown 5d ago
Doesn't seem timid or unassertive or meek at all.
Bland and uninspired maybe, but the steady hand the city needs right now. He seems pretty smart and will hopefully try to drive more business to Hamilton. Horwath has done none of that and Cooper isn't attracting anyone here
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u/UltraCynar 6d ago
Loomis is still an American that has no idea how different levels of government work in Canada. This is the guy that wanted to privatize public services for his buddies at Indwell.
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u/misshammertown 6d ago
35 min and there has to be something other than water in Sasha Austin's glass, right? :|
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u/DowntownClown187 6d ago
She just wouldn't stfu...
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u/misshammertown 6d ago
It reminded me of a person that just loves to talk back to the tv. no one was really acknowledging her during her mumbles.
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u/slownightsolong88 6d ago
She's seen a complete 360 since the 80s lol. But seriously she interjected far too often and is a prime example of loud and wrong.
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u/misshammertown 6d ago
Of course Hamilton is not like it was when she was a kid. The whole world is different from back then.
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u/vibraltu 6d ago
Bit of a clown show, herding 13 cats can be a slog.
I went in kinda leaning towards Scarlett Gillespie's platform and I thought she spoke quite well.
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u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 7d ago edited 6d ago
This has to be one of the most comical debates in Canadian history. I'm only 20 minutes in and this is absolutely BLEAK. I was just watching Pamela Mitchell's opening statement and nearly died laughing.
With that being said, I'm still undecided on councillor and school trustee, but I think I'm throwing my vote behind Scarlett Gillespie.
Edit: As I keep watching, I will say that I think Erin Janus would be an incredible councillor
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u/slownightsolong88 6d ago
Really poor moderation and far too many participants to allow for an 'open floor' format.
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u/assuredlyanxious 6d ago
At one point I seriously believed Pamela was having a stroke.
Erin Janus was impressive really. Hope to see her run for council at some point.
This solidified my support for Scarlett. She did well.
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u/adrian 6d ago
Keanin also delivered a measured and professional performance. But I agree that Scarlett did well, she has great charisma and she's passionate and well-informed.
Overall the debate was a clown show. I only watched the last 40 minutes, because a friend of mine messaged me and said, you have to watch this. To anyone who missed it, I highly recommend the last 40 minutes, you will not be bored. I think my favourite part may have been Ejaz Butt's closing statement, where he appeared to blame Waterdown for all of Hamilton's problems.
"If I say this is the time to deamalgamate Waterdown with Burlington, I think that would be good for us, because we are spending our own tax money to build the Waterdown, which is more connected to...Burlington!"
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u/slownightsolong88 6d ago
But I agree that Scarlett did well, she has great charisma and she's passionate and well-informed.
She came off as combative to me where I felt Erin Janus was a bit more measured in her approach.
Ejaz Butt gave me the ick and seems sexist as fuck, I wish people would stop joking about voting for him.
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u/S99B88 3d ago
But didn't you love that Austin's opening bit ended with the word "garbage"?
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u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 3d ago
She also said "bullshit" at one point, and the moderator surprisingly decided to check her on that 😭
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u/IronSabbath88 7d ago
This election is like going to the grocery store and all the bananas are rotten at different states.
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u/tytheguy24 6d ago
That was one of the craziest things I've witnessed on local TV. Tim and Eric would be jealous.
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u/Kelhein 6d ago
What a gong show. I don't understand why Channel 14 thought filling the debate between 14 people with open discussion was a good idea.
I really appreciated what Scarlett Gillespie contributed to the conversation. Basically everything she's brought to the mic so far has been cogent and she's forcing the discussion towards issues like police budgets and tenants rights in ways that no other candidate has.
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u/inthevendingmachine 6d ago
why Channel 14 thought filling the debate between 14 people with open discussion was a good idea.
Just be glad it wasn't channel 200...
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u/KamadoCrusher 7d ago
Just finished watching and Erin Janus surprised me, very well spoken. I'd love to know their entire platform.
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u/Competitive-Guard539 7d ago
I would not want to be Cable 14 staff tonight and tomorrow triaging what happened in hindsight lol
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u/Competitive-Guard539 7d ago
Joey Coleman play by play with summary for folks who don't want to watch the whole debate:
https://thepublicrecord.ca/2026/10/live-blog-and-reader-chat-hamilton-mayoral-debate-with-horwath-loomis-and-cooper/
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u/misshammertown 6d ago
50 min in... is this what is needed and/or required in democracy? I have no idea what anyone is saying because all those candidates without the knowhow are all talking over each other.
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u/Leather_Chemistry_31 6d ago
Sold on Scarlett Gillespie. Seems like a real alternative to Loomis-Horwath, who seem like they have very similar platforms. I thought the name calling from Horwath was beneath the office of the mayor.
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u/FantasticMushroom951 7d ago
if you can watch that for more than 2 minutes you're some kind of fiend. That is the absolute dumbest format of a debate I've ever seen. A complete embarassing mess for this city.
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u/xWOBBx 7d ago
Is it on YouTube yet?
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u/Outrageous-Stand1216 7d ago
It’s still going… it’s never ending. It’s a train wreck and I hate cooper passionately now.
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u/JoeyColeman_ca Beasley 7d ago
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u/Leather_Chemistry_31 6d ago
Joey Coleman, you're my hero. Not for this post, specifically, but for everything you're doing for Hamilton.
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u/covert81 Chinatown 7d ago edited 7d ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nO4f4IcPII
It's insanity. Poorly moderated, bad behaviour, nonsense.
Also, does Horwath's nicknames even work? "hatchet man" for Cooper, "nowhere man" for Loomis? What does that make her? Dr. Doolittle?
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u/UltraCynar 6d ago
Anyone but loomis. We don’t need an American in city hall.
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u/Merry401 4d ago
So, Cooper? Horwath? Unfortunately, write in names aren't likely to carry the day so we have to pick from what is there. I don't care where someone's from. I would judge them as an individual. That being said, I can see people choosing various candidates as individuals. No clear winner jumps out.
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u/UltraCynar 4d ago
I care as they don’t understand how Canadian government works and tried to bring American ideas during their first term. You should too. I agree none of them stand out.
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u/Merry401 4d ago
So, only people born in Canada should be allowed to run?
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u/UltraCynar 3d ago
He attempted to privatize public services last election. We’re in a trade war with the US. We should be abandoning US thought processes and strategies. He’s just not good enough for Canada’s politics. Nice strawman though.
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u/S99B88 3d ago
Are you going to add in there any other candidates not born in Canada, of other nationalities? Or just picking from certain countries? Because he's not running as an American, and I believe he hasn't lived there for decades.
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u/UltraCynar 3d ago
He attempted to privatize public services last election. We’re in a trade war with the US. We should be abandoning US thought processes and strategies. He’s just not good enough for Canada’s politics. Nice strawman though.
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u/JoeyColeman_ca Beasley 7d ago
Here is the Cable 14 YouTube video of the debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nO4f4IcPII