Halifax Municipal Elections

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

I know nothing about Lovelace other than her pledge to temporarily pause further bike lane installations to focus HRM resources on higher priority projects which is difficult to argue with. I suspect the Reddit commentariat knows nothing much either which would not be a surprise given the hive-mind behavior the clueless majority there often exhibits. Mason owned that place for many years which is why seeing negative posts about him there recently stood out.

I have not seen this bike lane pledge—where did she say that?

[Dartguard]

Originally Posted by Drybrain

I have not seen this bike lane pledge—where did she say that?

She wrote an Opinion Piece for the Halifax Herald about her Idea's for a better City and noticeable by its absence was Zero mention of Bikes, lanes or the culture. She does believe in a better transit system.

https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-ca...yor-100962133/

[Drybrain]

Originally Posted by Dartguard

She wrote an Opinion Piece for the Halifax Herald about her Idea's for a better City and noticeable by its absence was Zero mention of Bikes, lanes or the culture. She does believe in a better transit system.

https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-ca...yor-100962133/

I don't have a subscription so I can't read this, but not mentioning bike lanes is a far cry from declaring a moratorium on them. Also, as I mentioned elsewhere a while ago, the mayor is one vote on council and doesn't have the power to do anything like that unilaterally.

[GTG_78]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I agree with Keith. I saw no name calling in that post. He was making (a presumed humorous) comment on the collective Reddit posters. It was harmless. I would really like to see what Keith thinks about the cesspool of Facebook posters.

And it’s a bit rich coming from posters who regularly mock whole groups such as ‘Boomers’ (which now appears to be anyone over 45) and car drivers.

Ultimately, it’s a terrible field. Lovelace and Mason are both petty, thin-skinned individuals who have no place in public office, let alone being Mayor.

[Haliguy]

Andy Fillmore has announced he's running for mayor.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-...ayor-1.7252542

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by Haliguy

Andy Fillmore has announced he's running for mayor.

Not my favorite choice, but certainly infinitely better than Mason.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Not my favorite choice, but certainly infinitely better than Mason.

Andy Fillmore seems like the best choice to me at the moment. I'm curious to see whether familiarity with Waye Mason and Pam Lovelace at the municipal politics level is a plus or minus.

[Haliguy]

Originally Posted by eastcoastal

Andy Fillmore seems like the best choice to me at the moment. I'm curious to see whether familiarity with Waye Mason and Pam Lovelace at the municipal politics level is a plus or minus.

I agree, I think he's the best canidate so far.

[Empire]

Andy Fillmore brings a wealth of experience to the table. He is very passionate about Halifax and the path it should be taking. His 9 years as an MP will prove to be an immense asset should he be elected.

A few of his many accomplishments:

- Harvard Graduate - School of Design
- House of Commons MP since 2015
- Federal Committee member of Transportation & Infrastructure
- Urban planner in US & Halifax
- Manager of urban design & regional plan Halifax

Great to see him in the race!

[fatscat]

Originally Posted by Empire

Andy Fillmore brings a wealth of experience to the table. He is very passionate about Halifax and the path it should be taking. His 9 years as an MP will prove to be an immense asset should he be elected.

A few of his many accomplishments:

- Harvard Graduate - School of Design
- House of Commons MP since 2015
- Federal Committee member of Transportation & Infrastructure
- Urban planner in US & Halifax
- Manager of urban design & regional plan Halifax

Great to see him in the race!

Excellent troll post

[OldDartmouthMark]

When is the deadline for declaring candidacy?

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by fatscat

Excellent troll post

Now, now. Don’t hold his misguided youth that led him to be trained as an urban planner against him. He has gone on to better things despite that handicap.

[ns_kid]

Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark

When is the deadline for declaring candidacy?

September 10th. Still lots of time to throw your hat in the ring.

[OldDartmouthMark]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

September 10th. Still lots of time to throw your hat in the ring.

LOL... I'd rather have all my fingernails peeled off without the benefit of anesthesia than to participate in politics!

I was wondering, however, when we'd have a complete list of candidates to complain or "troll" about...

[Dmajackson]

It's election night and the polls have just closed. I have the Unofficial Election Results feed open and will be keeping an eye on them. I'll update this post with some results over the next few hours.

Quick Summary:
New Mayor Andy Fillmore
9 returning councillors (Gammon, Hendsbee, Kent, Purdy, Austin, Mancini, Cleary, Morse, Cuttell)
5 new councillors in no incumbent districts (White, Hinch, Hartling, Young, St-Amand)
2 new councillors via upset (Steele replaces Stoddard and Gillis replaces Russell)

MAYOR
Fillmore - 42%
Mason -25%
Lovelace - 16%

DISTRICT 1
Cathy Deagle Gammon is reelected with 67%.

DISTRICT 2
David Hendsbee is reelected with 54%. He has won all 8 municipal elections he's run in. He's 9 for 11 including provincial elections.

DISTRICT 3
Becky Kent is reelected with 62%.

DISTRICT 4
Trish Purdy is reelected with 48%.

DISTRICT 5
Sam Austin is reelected with 63%.

DISTRICT 6
Tony Mancini is reelected with 82%.

DISTRICT 7
Laura White is newly elected with 25%. There was no incumbent.

DISTRICT 8
Virginia Hinch is newly elected with 27%. There was no incumbent.

DISTRICT 9
Shawn Cleary is reelected (barely) with 28%.

DISTRICT 10
Kathryn Morse is reelected with 57%.

DISTRICT 11
Patty Cuttell is reelected with 52%.

DISTRICT 12
Janet Steele is newly elected with 38%. This is an upset with the incumbent, Iona Stoddard, losing by ~1'000 votes.

DISTRICT 13
Nancy Hartling is newly elected with 46%. There was no incumbent.

DISTRICT 14
John A. Young is newly elected with 61%. There was no incumbent.

DISTRICT 15
Billy Gillis is newly elected with 52%. This is an upset with the incumbent, Paul Russell, losing by ~200 votes.

DISTRICT 16
Jean St-Amand is newly elected with 42%. There was no incumbent.

[Keith P.]

Best news is that we are finally rid of Mason.

Worst news is that we are still afflicted with Mason mini-me Austin and apparently Cleary. Way too many incumbents re-elected.

[ns_kid]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

Best news is that we are finally rid of Mason.

Worst news is that we are still afflicted with Mason mini-me Austin and apparently Cleary. Way too many incumbents re-elected.

I don't live in district five and I don't always agree with Mr. Austin. But I believe him to be a conscientious, hard-working councillor. And far superior to his challenger, who -- judging by John DeMont's puff piece in the Herald -- was running only as his mother's surrogate.

[Keith P.]

Austin is a carbon copy of the not-so-dearly departed Mason. Sanctimonious, smug, with a superior attitude and contempt for the issues raised by constituents that are not aligned with his own beliefs. He always knows best, at least in his own mind. He has learned, though, that in the minds of largely oblivious constituents, the quantity of communication materials is far more important than the quality of what they contain. He loves to spend our money on useless things like palm trees and curb extensions to hinder traffic.

The large number of incumbents returned to Council is what is truly discouraging. Cleary, Austin, Morse, Kent, Mancini and their merry band are responsible for the mess HRM has become, yet voters reward them for their efforts. We need a max 2-term limit.

[DBaz]

Originally Posted by ns_kid

I don't live in district five and I don't always agree with Mr. Austin. But I believe him to be a conscientious, hard-working councillor. And far superior to his challenger, who -- judging by John DeMont's puff piece in the Herald -- was running only as his mother's surrogate.

He also represents what the majority of his constituents want.

I know it's hard for some people to understand, but people who choose to live in a downtown core actually want the area to be walkable, safe bike paths, effective transit, and not having cars using their living space as a superhighway.

As well, the taxes they pay would fund those things (because of the density) if it wasn't for the outflow of money to support suburban infrastructure.

This isn't a HRM specific thing. Look what is happening in Toronto right now; Rob Ford is pandering to the 905. Somehow Montreal has told the suburbs to p!$$ off...

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by DBaz

He also represents what the majority of his constituents want.

I take some solace that almost 40% of his constituents wanted him gone. I thought there was a chance his opponent could pull an upset despite being a bad candidate in his own right, given Austin was the one leading the charge for tossing the much-ballyhooed Centre Plan out with the trash and taking JT's sack of federal gold in return for mass rezoning of residential neighborhoods to turn areas into a mini-Mumbai. That caused much unrest in the urban areas of the city but voters have short memories.