Because
Better is
Possible.

The Proposed AI Data Centre Has to Prove It Will Work for Us

A statement from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

There is a proposal for a massive AI data centre in our city. It is the kind of project that gets announced with big promises, and before anyone celebrates, the people who live here deserve real answers.

I am not against investment. I welcome projects that bring good jobs and make life better for the families who live here. But a project this size has to work for residents, not against them. That is the whole test, and right now this project has not passed it.

Investment is welcome. The costs residents would carry are not.

A data centre of this scale is not a quiet neighbour. It can raise hydro costs, put noise and vibration next to people’s homes, and draw heavily on the energy and water we all share. Those are real costs, and they land on residents long after the ribbon is cut.

The construction phase always looks impressive. The question is what is left behind once it ends: a handful of lasting local jobs, or a project that quietly takes more from the community than it ever gives back.

We know what happens when a big project forgets the neighbours.

We do not have to imagine this. We have lived it.

For years, right here in Ward 9, the GFL dump has denied families the simple ability to enjoy their own homes and backyards. It has worn people down, and they have been left to live with it while the decisions that caused it were made somewhere else.

Hamilton cannot afford a second GFL. One is already one too many.

The burden of proof is on the developer.

Too often, residents are told a project is good for them and left to prove otherwise. I think that is backwards.

When a development is this big and this permanent, the burden belongs on the people proposing it. They have to show, with real information, that it will deliver lasting jobs, protect our environment, and respect the people who live nearby. As things stand today, with the information available, this project would cost the community more than it gives back.

Until that is proven wrong beyond any doubt, my answer is no.

Ward 9 deserves investment that is done right, and neighbours who are treated like partners instead of afterthoughts. That is a standard we can hold, and one I will keep holding.

Because better is possible.

Bring Back the Fireworks

Ask anyone who grew up in Upper Stoney Creek about Canada Day, and chances are they’ll mention the fireworks at Valley Park. Families on blankets. Kids with glow sticks. Neighbours who only saw each other a few times a year, together in one place, looking up at the same sky.

Those nights mattered. They were the kind of shared memories that turn a collection of houses into a community.

And somewhere along the way, we lost them.

I believe we should bring them back. As your councillor, I’ll work to return fireworks to Valley Park for Canada Day, and to make our community a place where major holidays are celebrated together, not just observed at home.

Some will say it’s a small thing. I disagree. The things that bring neighbours together are never small. When families gather at Valley Park, kids make memories in their own community instead of driving somewhere else. Local businesses see the traffic. Seniors who might spend the holiday alone have somewhere to go that’s close to home. And a community that celebrates together is a community that looks out for each other the rest of the year.

Upper Stoney Creek deserves more than services and infrastructure, as essential as those are. It deserves joy. It deserves traditions. It deserves nights where the whole neighbourhood is out on the grass together, looking up.

That’s the community I grew up in. And it’s the one I want to bring back.

Because better is possible.

A Smarter Approach to Coyote Safety in Ward 9

Across Upper Stoney Creek, residents are raising a concern that can no longer be ignored: increasing encounters with coyotes in our neighbourhoods, parks, and trail systems.

From the ravine between Marston and Winterberry, to Valley Park, the Eramosa Karst, the trail behind Kindertown, and the area around Janet Lee Drive, families are reporting more frequent sightings and, in some cases, aggressive interactions. Some encounters have occurred while residents were walking their dogs. Others have taken place near playgrounds, parks, and areas where children regularly gather.

These concerns are real, and residents deserve to feel safe in their own community.

Coyotes are a natural part of Ontario’s wildlife, but when encounters become more frequent and animals lose their natural fear of people, local government has a responsibility to act. Many residents feel they have been left to manage the problem themselves. Neighbourhood social media groups are filled with warnings. Residents are posting homemade signs. Families are changing walking routes and avoiding certain trails. That is not good enough.

Other cities have proven there is a better way

The challenges facing Upper Stoney Creek are not unique. Burlington, Mississauga, and Toronto have experienced similar increases in coyote activity. Rather than leaving residents to handle it on their own, those communities implemented formal coyote management strategies that combine education, enforcement, reporting systems, and coordinated response protocols. The result is a more informed public, better monitoring, and a stronger ability to address problem areas before incidents escalate.

A Hamilton Coyote Response Strategy

One of the first steps I will advocate for is a comprehensive Hamilton Coyote Response Strategy, with clear protocols for reporting, investigation, education, and intervention. Residents should never be left guessing about who to call or what to do when a safety concern emerges.

A real-time coyote sightings map

I will advocate for a publicly accessible coyote sightings map so residents can track recent activity across Hamilton and within Ward 9. Parents, dog owners, and trail users deserve timely, accurate information so they can make informed decisions about where and when they travel through parks and open spaces.

Stronger enforcement of wildlife feeding bylaws

Wildlife experts consistently point to one of the biggest causes of aggressive coyote behaviour: human feeding. Whether intentional or accidental, food sources draw coyotes in and teach them to lose their fear of people. Hamilton already has bylaws on feeding wildlife, but stronger enforcement is needed where problems repeat.

Helping residents reduce attractants

Pet food, unsecured garbage, bird seed, fallen fruit, and compost can all draw coyotes into residential areas. I will advocate for free residential yard audits and education that help residents identify and remove attractants around their homes.

Better coordination with conservation partners

Ward 9 is fortunate to have natural assets like the Eramosa Karst and an extensive trail network, but they also create wildlife corridors that need coordinated management. I will work to strengthen collaboration between the City, conservation authorities, wildlife experts, and local stakeholders so response efforts are coordinated across the whole network.

Residents should not have to wait for a serious incident before action is taken. When residents raise legitimate safety concerns, they deserve more than warnings posted on social media. They deserve action.

Because better is possible.

Safer Streets Start Before the Crime Does

The trend we can turn around

Upper Stoney Creek is a place families choose on purpose. Parents want their kids to grow up here, walk to a friend’s house here, and build a life here. That peace of mind is worth protecting, and the work starts earlier than most people think.

Hamilton Police Service’s Ward 9 report tells the story in numbers. In 2025, our ward saw 314 violent crime incidents, well above the five-year average of 243. Behind every one of those is a family that wants to feel safe on their own street again.

Police will always have an essential role in keeping us safe. But safer communities are also built before a crime ever happens, with good places for young people to go, trusted adults around them, and real opportunities ahead of them.

Prevention makes a difference

The evidence is clear that well designed prevention works. Recreation, mentorship, education, and a real shot at a first job give young people stronger connections and more to look forward to, before problems escalate. When young people have somewhere to go, someone dependable to turn to, and a path to their first paycheque, the whole community is stronger.

We already have building blocks

Ward 9 is not starting from scratch. Valley Park Community Centre and Arena already hosts seasonal drop-in recreation, including gym, swim, and skate. Across Hamilton, the City runs youth recreation programming for ages 12 to 17 and a free job readiness program for young people aged 14 to 21.

The City also runs a youth gun and gang prevention effort called Building Safer Communities. Through this federally funded initiative, nearly 2.5 million dollars is going into Hamilton community programs between 2023 and 2026. The catch is the calendar: that funding runs only through 2026, and there is no guarantee of what comes after. Ward 9 also needs recreation hours that keep up with our growing community.

The plan for Ward 9

• Invest in youth programming at Valley Park. Recreation is a City service, so a councillor can put the investment forward, build support around the Council table, and vote for it. I will make the case for more evening and weekend hours, affordable gym and court access for youth, and stronger links between Ward 9 families and the City’s employment programs.
• Build the case for renewed prevention funding. As the current funding period nears its end, Ward 9 needs a councillor pushing multiple levels of government to keep it going, and making sure qualified local organizations know about every opportunity.
• Bring the partners together. The City’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan and Hamilton’s Child and Youth Network already bring public agencies and community organizations together around prevention. A councillor’s job is to make sure Ward 9’s needs and ideas are in the room.

What a councillor can and cannot do

Being straight with you matters. A councillor cannot direct the police or secure a cheque from Ottawa alone. But a councillor can propose and vote for recreation investments, build support around the Council table, press for longer hours at Valley Park, and push multiple levels of government to keep prevention funding flowing. That is the honest difference between a promise and a plan.

Peace of mind is not built with more worry. It is built with open gyms, good mentors, and young people who can see a future for themselves right here.

Because better is possible.

After the Rally: A Word of Thanks

Saturday belonged to you. Not to me, not to the politicians who showed up, not to anyone with a microphone. To the residents of Upper Stoney Creek who have been closing their windows for years and refusing to stop saying something about it.

That is what community looks like. That is what it looks like when neighbours decide that enough is enough, and that no company, no matter how big, no matter how much they think a fine makes everything square, gets to tell them what they have to live with.

I want to thank Kathleen Taylor and the team at STAND for their leadership. This movement exists because of their work. I am glad to be standing with them, not in front of them.

I want to thank MP Ned Kuruc as well for coming out. When elected officials and community leaders show up in the same place for the same reason, it matters. It tells GFL and it tells City Hall that this isn’t going away.

But here is the honest truth about where things stand. A guilty plea is not relief. A fine is not clean air. GFL can write that cheque and open the gates again tomorrow.

Real relief means physical odour mitigation installed now, not studies, not promises. It means a full independent review of what is buried under that site. It means a year-round voice for this community at every decision that affects them. And it means real pressure to close this facility for good.

That is my plan. And I will push for it every single day at City Hall.

To everyone who came out Saturday: thank you. You showed what this ward is made of. You showed that a community that stays loud, stays organized, and refuses to back down is a community that can change things.

Our best summers are still ahead of us. Let’s make sure we get to enjoy them with the windows open.

Because better is possible.

Growing Up in Upper Stoney Creek

Before I asked for your vote, this community gave me everything. Let me tell you about it.

I am a lifelong resident of Upper Stoney Creek, and I never left. If you grew up in any of those schools, we might have crossed paths in the hallway.

My story isn’t a polished one, and I wouldn’t trade it. I was raised by a single mother living on a fixed income, and later by my grandmother. My dad worked as a short-order cook and drives for Uber. Nothing was handed to us. I learned early what it means to stretch a dollar, to worry about a bill, to watch the people you love work themselves tired just to keep things together.

I’m telling you this because when I talk about affordability, it’s not a talking point. When a senior on a fixed income tells me at the door that another tax increase means real choices between real things, I don’t have to imagine what that’s like. I grew up in that house.

This community carried my family through those years. Neighbours who looked out for us. Schools that pushed me. A community that made it possible for a kid from a struggling household to earn a degree from McMaster, a Master’s from Ryerson, build a career working across multiple levels of government, and open two small businesses of my own.

Everything I have, I built here. And everything I built, this community made possible.

So when I say Upper Stoney Creek deserves better, understand what I mean. I’ve watched the streets I grew up on get busier and less safe. I’ve watched taxes climb on the same fixed-income households that once carried my family. I’ve watched a generation of young people, kids who grew up here like I did, wonder whether they’ll ever be able to afford to stay.

I’m not running for city council because I need a job. I’m running because this is my home, these are my neighbours, and I believe the community that gave me my shot deserves someone who will work for it to be that same place of opportunity for the next kid growing up here.

That’s the whole story. No polish. Just where I come from, and why I’m not going anywhere.

Because better is possible.

A New Voice for Ward 9

Upper Stoney Creek is growing fast, and the old way of doing things at City Hall isn’t keeping up. Our community has added thousands of residents, but our roads, our services, and our public safety haven’t grown with it. I’m running to change that.

As a lifelong resident of Upper Stoney Creek, this community is home, and it’s where I’ve chosen to build my career and my life. I’m an advisor in the post-secondary education sector, I own and operate two small businesses, and I’ve held senior roles across multiple levels of government. For years, I’ve worked to help our community and to get real results.

That experience taught me how to work through complex challenges and how to actually get things done. Modern problems require modern solutions, not more of the same.

Making public safety a priority

Every family deserves to feel safe on their own street. I’ll advocate for a police substation for Upper Stoney Creek and a stronger local presence, so residents see officers in the community and response times reflect how much our ward has grown.

Tackling traffic and road safety

Speeding and reckless driving on residential streets is one of the most common concerns I hear at the door. I’ll push for real traffic calming where our kids play and walk to school, safer crossings, better signage, and better lighting at our most dangerous intersections.

Delivering value for your taxes

Property taxes have climbed more than 20% since 2022. Lower tax increases start with smarter spending, not fewer services. I’ll push for a full review of contracts, consultants, and procurement, so we find the waste before City Hall asks you for more.

Roads and transportation that keep up

The LINC and Red Hill carry far more traffic than they were built for. I’ll push the Province to take these parkways over and widen them, so the savings can go back into the local roads we drive every day, and I’ll press for real GO service so people in Stoney Creek can get where they’re going without losing an hour of their day.

Leadership that shows up every day

Ward 9 doesn’t need someone who shows up only at election time. It needs a councillor who is present, engaged, and relentless in tackling the issues that matter, every single day. That’s the kind of representative I’ll be: in the community, listening, and ready on day one to be a strong voice for Ward 9 residents and families.

Because better is possible.

Why I Knock Doors Every Day

The election is in October. I’ve been at your door since spring. Here’s why.

Some campaigns show up six weeks before election day, drop some literature, and hope for the best. That’s not how I was raised, and it’s not how I work.

I knock doors every single day because there’s no substitute for standing on someone’s porch and hearing, in their own words, what’s going on in their life. Not a survey. Not a town hall where only the loudest voices get the mic. A real conversation, one household at a time.

And here’s what I’m hearing, over and over, across Upper Stoney Creek.

On streets like Sidney Crescent and Hillcroft, young families tell me about cars flying down residential roads where their kids play. On Isaac Brock, residents tell me they want a real police presence in the community, and they’re frustrated watching their property taxes climb every single year while wondering what they’re getting for it. Near the GFL landfill, families tell me about summers with the windows closed. And almost everywhere, I hear some version of the same thing: the same old approach at City Hall isn’t working anymore.

I don’t knock doors to talk. I knock to listen. Every conversation gets written down, and every concern shapes the plan I’ll bring to City Hall. When I talk about traffic management near our schools, or a substation on Isaac Brock, or demanding value for every tax dollar, none of that came from a consultant. It came from your doorstep.

There’s a second reason I’m out every day, and it’s simpler: work ethic is a promise. Anyone can say they’ll work hard for you after they’re elected. The doors are how I prove it before you’ve given me anything. If I won’t put in the work to earn your vote, why would you believe I’d put in the work after I have it?

The election is October 26. Until then, if you see me on your street, come say hello. And if I haven’t reached your door yet, I will. That’s not a slogan. It’s a schedule.

Because better is possible.

Fighting for Affordability

At doors across our community, the message I hear most is simple: everything costs more, and it’s getting harder to keep up.

And every year, the property tax bill climbs higher too: up 5.85% in 2023, 5.79% in 2024, 5.6% in 2025, and 3.87% in 2026. That’s more than 20% since this council took office, hundreds of dollars more out of your pocket every year. For families and seniors on fixed incomes, it adds up fast.

How we got here

For years, City Hall used reserves and one-time fixes to keep increases looking low. The bills didn’t disappear, they got pushed down the road, and now they’re coming due at once. Meanwhile, roads are still crumbling, crime is up, and Ward 9 is still waiting for services to catch up. You’re paying more and getting less. That isn’t right.

Lower taxes start with better spending

Lower tax increases don’t mean cutting the services you rely on. They mean spending smarter and respecting that it’s your money. Here’s what I’ll push for:

• A full review of City contracts, consultants, and procurement, so we cut waste, not the services families count on.
• Lower property tax increases, by demanding value for every dollar before the City reaches into your pocket.
• Real return on your taxes, with the roads, safety, and services Ward 9 has paid for but not received.

Accountability for your money

Before City Hall asks you for more, it should account for what it already takes. When the Auditor General flags waste, the recommendations should be acted on, not filed away. That’s the difference between a City Hall that respects your money and one that doesn’t.

You shouldn’t just be getting by. You should be getting ahead.

Because better is possible.

Better City Services Start Before the Problem

Here’s a simple truth about how our city runs: we wait for things to break, then we pay more to fix them.

A tree branch hangs over a sidewalk for months. Residents call. Nothing happens. Then it falls, someone gets hurt, and suddenly there’s an emergency crew, a liability claim, and a lawsuit that costs taxpayers far more than a morning of trimming ever would have.

That’s reactive government. And it’s expensive.

You see it everywhere in Upper Stoney Creek. Roads that crumble for years before they’re repaved, costing triple what regular maintenance would have. Potholes patched over and over instead of fixed right once. And the biggest example of all: the LINC and Red Hill, both carrying more traffic than they were designed for, both already at or above capacity at rush hour. Hamilton is growing, another quarter million people are coming by 2051, and we’re still debating whether to prepare. Widening those parkways gets more expensive every year we wait. Acting before the crisis is always cheaper than reacting after it.

This isn’t complicated. Every homeowner understands it. You fix the small leak before it becomes a flooded basement. You change the oil before the engine seizes. Somehow, City Hall never learned what every family on a budget already knows.

Proactive government isn’t just better service. It’s cheaper service. Every dollar spent on prevention saves multiples down the road, and that’s how we keep taxes down while actually improving what residents get for their money.

As your councillor, I’ll push for exactly that: a city that trims the branch before it falls, fixes the road before it crumbles, and plans for growth before gridlock. Because you deserve a city that works as hard as you do, and thinks ahead the way you have to.

Because better is possible.

The GFL Landfill: Real Relief, Not More Delays

If you live near the GFL landfill, you don’t need me to tell you there’s a problem. You live it every day. The odour that keeps your windows closed in summer. The kids who can’t play in their own backyards. The worry about what it all means for your family’s health and your home’s value.

This has gone on far too long, and families here deserve real relief.

The goal is clear

Our goal is simple: GFL needs to pack up and close its doors. The City has gone to court to close the site for up to two years, and I fully support that. But until those gates are shut, residents deserve action they can actually feel, not just motions and court filings that drag on while you keep breathing the air.

Here’s what I’ll push for

• Real physical odour mitigation, not chemical masking. The measures that actually reduce the smell affecting our homes, now, not years from now.
• A full study of what is truly buried under that site, so families know exactly what they’re living beside and what it means for their health.
• The school our community was promised, finally built, by working with the school board and the Province to find a suitable location.
• A dedicated, year-round voice on this file, not just when it’s convenient.

I’ve organized town halls, sat at the table, and heard your concerns. I’ve sat with residents and businesses whose daily lives are disrupted by this. I know what’s at stake, because it’s my community too.

A guilty plea is not relief. A fine is a receipt. Relief is being able to open your windows again in July. That’s what I’ll keep pushing for, every single day.

Because better is possible.

Real Help, Real Value: A Better Way on Homelessness

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

Homelessness is growing across Hamilton, and every resident I talk to wants the same two things: real help for people in crisis, and real value for the tax dollars we spend getting there.

Right now we are getting neither. The City’s Barton-Tiffany shelter project ballooned from $2.8 million to $7.9 million. The Auditor General found roughly $2.3 million paid sight-unseen and council kept in the dark. The Auditor General found no personal corruption. It was a failure of process and oversight, and taxpayers paid for it.

There is a better way, and it is already working here in Hamilton.

Indwell, a local supportive housing provider, houses people with the supports they need for a fraction of what the City spends on emergency responses. Their model gets people off the street and keeps them housed.

Because getting someone off the street is only the first step. We need to help people get sober, and give them the training and skills they need to enter the workforce and build a new life. Everyone deserves that chance to turn their life around. That is how we show real compassion and dignity.

What I will push for as your City Councillor

• Partner with proven providers like Indwell instead of reinventing the wheel at triple the cost
• Audit how homelessness dollars are spent before City Hall asks taxpayers for more
• Prioritize supportive housing that solves the problem over emergency spending that only manages it
• Advocacy to the Province for the health and addiction supports this work depends on

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Upper Stoney Creek Should Be a Place the Next Generation Can Afford to Stay

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

I was raised in Upper Stoney Creek on a fixed income. I know what it means when the rent is due, the bills do not wait, and there is nothing left at the end of the month. That is not a talking point for me. It is how I grew up.

Today, families across Ward 9 are telling me the same thing. Their kids cannot afford to buy a home in the community they grew up in. Seniors on fixed incomes are watching their property taxes climb more than 20 percent since 2022. Young couples are paying rent that leaves nothing to save.

Upper Stoney Creek should be a place where the next generation can afford to stay.

Ward 9 is growing, and City Hall is not keeping up. I support more housing options, ending exclusionary zoning, and streamlining approvals so homes actually get built, with the roads, services, and infrastructure planned to support that growth.

With today’s economic uncertainty, no single level of government can fix this alone. The federal, provincial, and municipal governments need to work together to make housing affordable again and create the next generation of homeowners. I have worked in policy roles at the provincial and federal levels of government, and I am the candidate who can deliver that collaboration.

What I will push for as your City Councillor

• Ending exclusionary zoning and streamlining approvals, so homes get built in months, not years
• Lower property tax increases by cutting waste, so owning a home stays within reach for families and seniors
• Protecting the affordable homes and rentals we already have in Upper Stoney Creek
• Partnering with proven local providers like Indwell, who build supportive and affordable housing for a fraction of what the City spends going it alone
• Pushing the Province for the housing and infrastructure funding Hamilton has been waiting on

I did not grow up with much. This community gave me the chance to build a life here anyway. I want every family in Ward 9 to have that same chance.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Why a New Home Costs What It Does, and How We Bring It Down

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

Everyone agrees we need more homes that families can afford. Fewer people talk about why a new home costs what it does. A big part of the answer is how City Hall pays for the pipes, sewers, roads, and water lines that every new neighbourhood needs.

Right now, the City loads that cost onto development charges up front. The builder pays them, and that bill gets baked straight into the price of your home. The more City Hall charges up front, the higher the sticker price for the family buying it.

It does not have to work that way, and I have a plan to change it.

Ontario already lets municipalities set up their own development corporations and utility bodies. These tools let a city borrow at low interest rates and spread the cost of infrastructure over decades, the same way a family pays for a house with a mortgage instead of all at once. Less upfront cost means lower development charges. Lower development charges mean a lower price on a new home. Other municipalities are already doing this. Hamilton is not.

What I will push for as your City Councillor

• A Hamilton municipal development corporation to finance infrastructure at low interest over the long term, instead of front-loading the cost onto new homes
• Lower development charges as that upfront cost comes down, so the savings reach the family buying the home
• Streamlined approvals with firm timelines, so a project is not sitting on a desk at City Hall for years
• Infrastructure planned ahead of growth, not after it, so new homes come with the roads, water, and services already in place
• Ending exclusionary zoning so more housing options can be built in the right places

This is how we build the homes Ward 9 needs without pricing out the next generation. It takes a councillor who understands how the financing works and is willing to push for it.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

A Stop Sign Is a Family Feeling Safe on Their Own Corner

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

Residents around Hillgarden and Spring Garden have been asking for a stop sign at this intersection, and they are right. Drivers treat it like a through street. Neighbours tell me they hold their breath backing out of the driveway, and parents will not let their kids cross alone.

This is exactly the kind of fix City Hall should deliver quickly. It has not.

What I will push for as your City Councillor

• An all-way stop at Hillgarden and Spring Garden as a day-one request
• A completed traffic review immediately, not next budget cycle
• Interim measures while we wait: better signage, pavement markings, and enforcement
• Direct updates to residents on this street, so you are never left guessing where things stand

Small fixes matter. A stop sign is a family feeling safe on their own corner.

Ward 9 needs a councillor who is present, engaged, and relentless on the issues that matter, every single day. I am ready on day one to get the job done and deliver.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

I Hear It From My Own Front Door

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

I live on Highland Road. What has been happening on our street is not something I read about. I hear it from my own front door.

In recent months, Highland has seen a shooting, a serious crash caused by extreme speeding, constant speeding day and night, and break-ins that leave families rattled. According to Hamilton Police Service’s own Ward 9 data, violent crime reached 314 incidents in 2025, well above the five year average of 243.

Waking up to gunshots is not normal, and we cannot let it become normal. Whatever City Hall is doing, it is not working.

As your councillor, and as your neighbour on this street, here is what I will deliver and push for

• A new police substation on Isaac Brock Drive and more officers in Upper Stoney Creek
• Physical traffic calming on Highland Road, designed to slow drivers down for good
• Better lighting on the stretches residents flag as unsafe after dark

Every family deserves to feel safe on their own street. Mine included.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Enforcement Deals With Crime Today. Investing in Youth Prevents Tomorrow's.

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

At door after door, residents tell me they want to feel safe again. They want to know their car will still be in the driveway in the morning, and they want their kids growing up away from violence, not around it.

According to Hamilton Police Service’s own Ward 9 data, violent crime reached 314 incidents in 2025, well above the five year average of 243. Young people are increasingly caught up in this violence, as both victims and offenders.

Whatever City Hall is doing, it is not working. Ward 9 deserves real action, not more of the same.

As your councillor, here is what I will deliver and push for

• A new police substation on Isaac Brock Drive and more officers in Upper Stoney Creek
• Investment in youth recreation and after-school programs, so young people have somewhere to be and something to build
• Mentorship and early-intervention partnerships with our schools and community groups, to reach kids before violence does
• Advocacy to the Province and Ottawa for meaningful bail reform, including stronger provisions under the Youth Criminal Justice Act to address youth crime
• Better lighting and safer public spaces in the spots residents avoid after dark

Enforcement deals with crime today. Investing in our youth prevents the crime of tomorrow. Ward 9 needs both.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Hamilton Taxpayers Are Paying for a Provincial Highway

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

Every day, roughly 88,000 to 92,000 vehicles use the LINC and Red Hill, at or above what these roads were built to carry. Since the downtown truck ban, truck traffic is up roughly 87 percent on the Red Hill and 68 percent on the LINC. And more and more of that traffic is drivers from outside Hamilton passing through to get somewhere else.

Hamilton taxpayers are paying for a provincial highway. That has to change.

These roads cost the City roughly $775,000 a year to operate. The last Red Hill repave cost $12.5 million, and widening is estimated at roughly $138 million. When Toronto uploaded the Gardiner and DVP, it saved up to $6.5 billion over ten years. Forecast our numbers out and uploading takes hundreds of millions in future costs off Ward 9 and Hamilton taxpayers, money that goes back into rebuilding our local streets instead.

What I will push the Province for until they say yes

• Upload the LINC and Red Hill to the Province, so a provincial highway is paid for like one
• Median guardrails to stop vehicles from crossing into oncoming traffic in a crash
• Expansion to three lanes each way, so these roads can actually carry the traffic they get
• Every dollar saved reinvested into repaving and rebuilding Ward 9’s local streets

The case is there. The traffic is provincial, the trucks are provincial, and the costs should be too. This is a deal waiting to be closed.

And this is about more than money. Less gridlock means shorter commutes. You deserve to have that time back in your day, at the dinner table instead of stuck in traffic.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

These Are Not Statistics. They Are Our Streets.

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

Across Highland Road, Highbury Drive, and our surrounding streets, residents are telling me the same thing. Cars are flying past school zones. Pulling out of driveways feels dangerous. Letting kids walk to the bus stop or play near the road no longer feels safe.

I live on Highland Road, so I hear the cars speeding by every day from my own driveway. These concerns are well-founded. According to Hamilton Police Service’s own Ward 9 data, collisions reached 660 in 2025, well above the five year average of 512.

These are not statistics. They are our neighbours, our intersections, our streets. And whatever City Hall is doing about it is not working.

As your councillor, here is what I will deliver and push for

• Traffic calming on Highland, Highbury, and the streets residents flag most, designed to slow drivers down without slowing down our emergency vehicles
• A new police substation on Isaac Brock Drive and more officers in Upper Stoney Creek
• A police officer parked at key intersections to catch drivers blowing through stop signs, because nothing changes driver behaviour faster than getting caught
• Better signage, lighting, and road markings at dangerous intersections residents have been raising for years
• Real road and shoulder maintenance, so growth does not leave our local streets in disrepair
• A clear voice for residents in how the City plans for traffic safety, so families are not an afterthought

Ward 9 needs a councillor who is present, engaged, and relentless on the issues that matter, every single day. I am ready on day one to get the job done and deliver.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

A Child Should Not Be Doing Highway Speeds on a Scooter

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

Across Upper Stoney Creek, residents keep raising the same concern with me: kids on e-scooters, riding on our main roads and through our parks. Kids as young as 10 and 12. Sometimes two or three on one scooter. Some of these scooters can top 50 kilometres an hour.

You need a licence to drive a car. A child should not be doing highway speeds on a scooter on a main road.

This is dangerous for the kids riding them and for everyone around them. A driver, a pedestrian, or a family in a park should not have to hope a 10 year old on a scooter sees them in time.

We need action, not absence, from City Hall. Right now they are not taking this seriously, and quite frankly, someone is going to get seriously hurt. We should act before that happens, not after.

What I will push for as your City Councillor

• Ban e-scooter use by young kids, with clear age rules that parents and police can actually point to
• Keep e-scooters off our main roads and out of our parks where families walk and kids play
• One rider per scooter and real speed limits, with real enforcement behind them
• A police officer parked at key intersections and park entrances to stop scooters blowing through stop signs, because a warning or a ticket changes behaviour fast
• A public safety campaign so every parent knows the rules before their kid gets on one

This is a solvable problem. Other cities have set rules that work. Ward 9 deserves a councillor who deals with an issue before someone gets hurt, not one who waits until after.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Rural Ward 9 Pays Its Share. It Deserves Its Share Back.

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

From Tapleytown to Vinemount and everywhere above the escarpment, rural Upper Stoney Creek built this community. Our farms feed this city, and the families out here have kept these roads and communities strong for generations. Yet too often, City Hall treats rural Ward 9 like an afterthought.

Country roads and shoulders left in disrepair. Drivers cutting through at highway speeds past farm gates and driveways. Ditches and drainage ignored until fields and yards flood. Snow clearing that reaches rural roads last, if at all. And the GFL landfill left to take summer after summer from the families who live near it.

Rural Ward 9 pays its share. It deserves its share back.

Leaders who know rural communities are backing this campaign: Dean Allison, MP for Niagara West; Ken Hewitt, former Mayor of Haldimand County; and April Jeffs, former Mayor of Wainfleet.

What I will deliver and push for

• Real road and shoulder maintenance on our rural roads, not just repaving in the suburbs
• Proper ditch and drainage maintenance, so spring melt and storms do not flood fields and yards
• Traffic calming and better signage where drivers cut through at dangerous speeds
• Fixing the GFL problem with real odour mitigation and a year-round voice at City Hall
• Better lighting at rural intersections residents have flagged for years
• Respect for farms and rural life when the City makes decisions about growth
• A councillor who shows up in rural Ward 9 all year round, every single year

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Tired of Watching the Driveway at Night

A letter to the community from Jonathan Stathakos, candidate for Ward 9 City Councillor.

Across Summit Park, Times Square Boulevard, Gatestone Drive, and Eringate Drive, families are telling me the same thing. They are tired of watching their driveways at night, tired of waking up to broken glass and missing cars, and tired of feeling like their own neighbourhood is not safe.

They are right to be worried, and the numbers back them up.

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, auto theft claim costs in Hamilton climbed from $7.4 million in 2018 to nearly $20 million in 2023, a 170 percent increase in just five years. And fewer than one in ten stolen vehicle cases are ever solved.

According to Hamilton Police Service’s own Ward 9 data, property crime in our ward is well above its five year average, and violent crime reached 314 incidents in 2025, well above the five year average of 243. Young people are increasingly caught up in this violence, as both victims and offenders.

Whatever City Hall is doing, it is not working. Ward 9 deserves real action, not more of the same.

As your councillor, here is what I will deliver and push for

• A new police substation on Isaac Brock Drive and more officers in Upper Stoney Creek
• Better lighting on the streets where auto theft is concentrated, because well-lit driveways are safer driveways
• A dedicated Ward 9 voice on the Hamilton Police Services Board to advocate for the resources our community needs
• A permanent push for Hamilton to keep its auto theft response funded year over year, not just when provincial grants are available
• Advocacy to the Province and Ottawa for meaningful bail reform, including stronger provisions under the Youth Criminal Justice Act to address youth crime
• Advocacy for expanded correctional capacity so dangerous offenders are not released for lack of space

Ward 9 needs a councillor who is present, engaged, and relentless on the issues that matter, every single day. I am ready on day one to get the job done and deliver.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Why Can’t We Keep the Grass Cut?

Cutting the grass is the bare minimum. If we cannot get that done right and on time, how can we take on real challenges like crime?

It comes up at the door on Paramount Drive and across Upper Stoney Creek. Overgrown boulevards, park edges left for weeks, the small things that tell residents whether City Hall is paying attention. When the basics slip, people notice, and they are right to.

The basics are a test, and City Hall keeps failing it.

Every family on a budget already understands this. You take care of the small things before they turn into big ones. Somehow that lesson never made it to City Hall.

What I will push for as your City Councillor

• Basic maintenance standards with public reporting: grass cut, roads patched, on time, and residents can see the record
• A service standard starting with my own office: every call and email gets a response within a set number of days, tracked and published
• Value for money before City Hall asks for more, so the basics get done without another tax increase

Better is possible. This October, let’s get this community back on track.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

The Experience to Deliver for Ward 9.

I am a Senior Public Sector Advisor and a former Chief of Staff to a Member of Parliament. For years I have worked inside government at multiple levels, in economic development, post-secondary education, and the transportation sectors. I hold a BA from McMaster University and a Master’s from Ryerson University, and I am a small business owner. I have lived in Upper Stoney Creek my entire life. I know how City Hall works, and I know what this community needs from it.

A record, not just a resume

• Chief of Staff to MP Ned Kuruc. I ran the office, managed the files, and got results for constituents. I learned how decisions actually get made and how to move them.
• Senior Public Sector Advisor. Policy and government relations work across economic development, post-secondary education, and transportation, at the provincial and federal levels.
• On the GFL file all year. I spoke about the landfill on CHCH, stood with residents at the rally, and helped organize the town halls with MP Ned Kuruc so residents’ concerns reached multiple levels of government at once.
• Small business owner. Built from nothing. I know what rising costs and red tape do to people trying to get ahead.
• Backed by people who have done the job. Former Mayor Bob Bratina, former Ward 9 Councillor Doug Conley, former Haldimand County Mayor Ken Hewitt, MP Dean Allison, and former Welland Mayor April Jeffs have endorsed this campaign.

Education

I earned my BA at McMaster University and my Master’s at Ryerson University. My thesis evaluated Document 19, the 1982 policy that set the limits of religious tolerance in China, and what happens to a society when freedom of belief is only partly allowed. While at Ryerson I worked as a Teaching Assistant and was a proud CUPE member, an experience that shaped how I see work: the people doing the job deserve a real voice, fair treatment, and respect.

Where I come from

I was raised by a single mother on ODSP. I know what it means when the rent is due, the bills do not wait, and there is nothing left at the end of the month. That is not a talking point for me. It is how I grew up. It taught me to respect every dollar, to solve problems instead of waiting for someone else to, and to notice the people who get left behind when the basics stop working.

This community gave me the chance to build a life anyway. Good schools, safe streets, neighbours who looked out for each other. I want every family in Ward 9 to have that same chance. I did not move here for the campaign. This is home, and it always has been.

Why I am running

I have watched taxes climb more than 20 percent since 2022. I have heard neighbours on my own street say they no longer feel safe. I have sat with families who close their windows in July because of the landfill. None of this has to be permanent. The fixes are real, and I have the plan and the experience to deliver them.

I am not running for a title. I am running because this is my home, these are my neighbours, and I know we can do better. Because better is possible.

Want to talk? Email info@votejonathan.ca or catch me at the door.

Give Our Kids Somewhere to Be and Something to Build

Every parent in Ward 9 knows the math. A kid with a practice to get to, a coach who expects them, and teammates counting on them is a kid whose evenings are spoken for, in the best way. A kid with nothing to do and nowhere to be is a kid we have left to figure it out alone.

Growth without programs

Upper Stoney Creek has grown by thousands of families, and our recreation options have not kept pace. Parents tell me about waitlists for programs, teams scrambling for field and ice time, and drives across the city for what should be available here. When registration fills in minutes, the kids who lose out are always the ones whose families have the least flexibility.

Recreation is prevention

I want to be direct about the stakes. Violent crime in Ward 9 reached 314 incidents in 2025, well above the five year average of 243, and too much of it involves young people, as victims and as offenders. Enforcement deals with crime today. Recreation, mentorship, and programs prevent the crime of tomorrow. A dollar spent on a rec program is the cheapest public safety spending there is.

What I will push for

Investment in youth recreation and after-school programs across Upper Stoney Creek, so young people have somewhere to be and something to build. Field, gym, and ice time allocated fairly to a growing ward, not grandfathered to the way things were. Mentorship and early-intervention partnerships with our schools and community groups, to reach kids before violence does. Affordable program fees and subsidies that actually reach the families who need them. And park and facility planning that grows with the ward, so the next generation is not competing for the last spot.

Our kids should grow up with more here, not less. That is what getting ahead means.

Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Aging in Place: Seniors Built Upper Stoney Creek. They Should Get to Stay.

Talk to seniors at doors across Ward 9 and you hear the same wish, said different ways: I want to stay in my home. The home where they raised their kids. The street where they know every neighbour. The community they spent a working lifetime building.

Staying should be the easy option. Instead, City Hall keeps making it harder.

What's pushing seniors out

Property taxes are up more than 20 percent since 2022, and for a senior on a fixed income there is no raise coming to absorb that. Sidewalks and roads in disrepair turn a daily walk into a hazard. Winter comes and an unplowed street means a missed medical appointment. None of these is dramatic on its own. Together, they quietly push people out of homes they own outright.

What I will push for

Lower property tax increases by cutting waste first, because a senior’s fixed income should not be City Hall’s shock absorber. Making sure seniors know about and can easily access every tax relief and deferral option available to them, with City Hall doing the outreach instead of burying the programs in paperwork. Sidewalk and road repair prioritized where seniors walk: around churches, plazas, medical offices, and community centres. Snow clearing that treats every street, including quiet ones, as someone’s lifeline. And better lighting, safer crossings, and benches that make the neighbourhood walkable at every age.

Respect is the policy

Upper Stoney Creek’s seniors paid for this community’s roads, schools, and parks over decades of tax bills. The measure of a City Hall is whether it remembers that when they need something back. I will.

Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Safer Streets Start Before the Crime Does

Upper Stoney Creek is a place families choose on purpose.

Parents want their kids to grow up here, walk to a friend’s house here, and build a life here. That peace of mind is worth protecting, and the work starts earlier than most people think.

Hamilton Police Service’s Ward 9 report tells the story in numbers. In 2025, our ward saw 314 violent crime incidents, well above the five year average of 243. Behind every one of those is a family that wants to feel safe on their own street again.

Police will always have an essential role in keeping us safe. But safer communities are also built before a crime ever happens, with good places for young people to go, trusted adults around them, and real opportunities ahead of them.

Prevention makes a difference

The evidence is clear that well designed prevention works. Recreation, mentorship, education, and a real shot at a first job give young people stronger connections and more to look forward to, before problems escalate.

When young people have somewhere to go, someone dependable to turn to, and a path to their first paycheque, the whole community is stronger.

We already have building blocks

Ward 9 is not starting from scratch. Valley Park Community Centre and Arena already hosts seasonal drop in recreation, including gym, swim, and skate. Across Hamilton, the City runs youth recreation programming for ages 12 to 17 and a free job readiness program for young people aged 14 to 21.

The City also runs a youth gun and gang prevention effort called Building Safer Communities. Through this federally funded initiative, nearly 2.5 million dollars is going into Hamilton community programs between 2023 and 2026, supporting prevention through recreation, mentorship, and skills.

The catch is the calendar. That funding agreement runs only through 2026, and there is no guarantee of what comes after. Ward 9 also needs recreation hours that keep up with our growing community.

THE PLAN FOR WARD 9

Invest in youth programming at Valley Park. Recreation is a City service, which means a councillor can put the investment forward, build support around the Council table, and vote for it. I will make the case in the budget for more evening and weekend hours, affordable gym and court access for youth, and stronger links between Ward 9 families and the City’s employment programs.

Build the case for renewed prevention funding. As the current Building Safer Communities funding period nears its end, Ward 9 needs a councillor pushing multiple levels of government to keep it going, and making sure qualified local organizations know about every opportunity and can bring forward programs built for our community.

Bring the partners together. The City’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan and Hamilton’s Child and Youth Network already bring public agencies and community organizations together around prevention and better outcomes for young people. A councillor’s job is to make sure Ward 9’s needs and ideas are in the room.

What a councillor CAN and CANNOT do

Being straight with you matters. A councillor cannot direct the police or secure a cheque from Ottawa alone. But a councillor can propose and vote for recreation investments, build support around the Council table, press for longer hours at Valley Park, and push multiple levels of government to keep prevention funding flowing.

That is the honest difference between a promise and a plan.

Peace of mind is not built with more worry. It is built with open gyms, good mentors, and young people who can see a future for themselves right here. Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

The $18.3 Million Cyberattack: What It Tells Us About How City Hall Is Run

In February 2024, a cyberattack crippled roughly 80 percent of Hamilton’s network. Services residents rely on went down. Recovery has cost taxpayers $18.3 million, including more than $14 million paid to outside consultants. The ransom was never paid, and that was the right call.

Everything around it was not.

The part that should make you angry

Hamilton had cyber insurance. The claim was denied. Why? Because the City had not finished deploying multi-factor authentication, a basic security measure, after the insurer itself flagged the gap in late 2022. City Hall was warned, in writing, by the company that would have paid the bill. More than a year later, the work still was not done.

Multi-factor authentication is the same protection your bank makes you use to check your balance on your phone. Your bank managed it. A city with a multi-billion dollar budget did not, and the result is that $18.3 million came out of your pocket instead of an insurance policy.

This was an administration failure

Let me be precise, because precision matters. This was a failure of City Hall administration: a known risk, flagged by the insurer, left unfixed until it became an $18.3 million bill.

It is the clearest example I know of the pattern residents feel everywhere: we wait for things to break, then we pay more to fix them.

What I will push for

A public accounting of every recommendation from the cyberattack review, with deadlines and a named owner for each. Basic-security audits done on schedule, treated with the urgency of a fire inspection, because that is what they are. Insurance requirements treated as hard deadlines, not suggestions. And a council that asks the uncomfortable follow-up questions before the bill arrives, not after.

Ward 9 families balance their own budgets, back up their own photos, and update their own passwords. They have every right to expect their City Hall to meet the same standard.

Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

A Quarter Million More Residents Are Coming. Ward 9 Needs a Plan, Not a Shrug.

Hamilton is expected to grow by roughly a quarter million more residents by 2051. That is the fact. It is neither good news nor bad news on its own. What makes it one or the other is whether the infrastructure arrives before the people, or years after.

Ward 9 knows both versions

Upper Stoney Creek has lived the second version. Thousands of new residents arrived, and our roads, our services, and our public safety did not grow with them. Roughly 88,000 to 92,000 vehicles a day now use the LINC and Red Hill, at or above capacity. Fields and programs are full. Response times stretch. Residents did nothing wrong by moving here, and the residents who were already here did nothing wrong either. City Hall simply let the rooftops outrun everything else.

Infrastructure first is not a slogan. It is a sequence.

Growth done right follows an order: plan the roads, water, parks, schools sites, and services, finance them sensibly, then build the homes.

Growth done wrong reverses it, and everyone pays: new families stuck without services, existing families stuck in traffic, and taxpayers stuck retrofitting what should have been built in the first place, always at a premium.

What I will push for

Infrastructure planned and funded ahead of new development, not promised behind it. Growth directed to the right places, with the roads and services to support it, and respect for farms and rural life where it does not belong. Modern financing tools, like a municipal development corporation, so infrastructure costs are spread sensibly instead of front-loaded onto new home prices. Parks, recreation, and safety services scaled to the population we are actually becoming. And a councillor who reads the growth forecasts as a to-do list, not a someday problem.

The next 25 years of Upper Stoney Creek are being decided right now, in planning documents most people never see. I will be in those rooms, and Ward 9 will be heard.

Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

The Full Case for a Police Substation on Isaac Brock

Ask Ward 9 residents what would make them feel safer, and one answer comes back over and over: police who are actually here. Not driving up the Mountain when something goes wrong. Based here, present here, known here.

The numbers behind the feeling

This is not just a feeling. According to Hamilton Police Service’s own Ward 9 data, violent crime reached 314 incidents in 2025, well above the five year average of 243. Residents tell me about stolen cars, break-ins, and now shootings, in neighbourhoods where those words used to belong to somewhere else.

Upper Stoney Creek has grown by thousands of residents, and our policing footprint has not grown with it. When officers respond from across the city, response times stretch, familiarity disappears, and the deterrent effect of a visible police presence goes with it.

What a substation changes

A substation on Isaac Brock Drive puts officers in the community they serve. Faster response times, because the trip starts here. Officers who know our streets, our schools, and our trouble spots by name. A visible presence that changes behaviour before anything happens, and a place residents can actually walk into. Policing works best when it is local. That is not a slogan. It is how community policing has always worked.

Straight talk about how this gets done

Here is the honest part most candidates skip: a City Councillor does not command the police service. Decisions about facilities and staffing run through the Hamilton Police Services Board and the police budget, with the Province holding key funding levers. So the promise I make is the one I can keep: I will be the loudest, most persistent, most prepared advocate this file has ever had, at the Board, at council, and with the Province, until Upper Stoney Creek gets the police presence its growth demands.

Every family deserves to feel safe on their own street. It’s time for results.

Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

How and Where Ward 9 Votes: Your Complete Guide

Everything else this campaign has talked about, taxes, safety, roads, GFL, comes down to what happens in one small booth. Here is everything you need to know to cast your ballot in Ward 9, whether you vote early or on election day.

Advance voting: six days, one location

If October 26 is busy, you can vote early. Advance voting for Ward 9 residents takes place at Valley Park Community Centre on six days: Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4; Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11; and Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on each of those days.

Advance voting is the easiest insurance there is. If you know how you are voting, go on a quiet Saturday, be done in minutes, and nothing on election day, weather, work, a sick kid, can keep your voice out of this election.

Election day: Monday, October 26

On election day, Monday, October 26, 2026, polls are open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Ward 9 residents vote at six locations: St. Paul Elementary School, Bishop Ryan Secondary School, Gatestone Elementary School, Saltfleet District High School, the Croatian Sports and Community Centre, and Valley Park Community Centre. Your voter notification from the City will tell you which location is yours.

Before you go

Check that you are on the voters’ list and confirm your assigned poll through the City of Hamilton’s election page at hamilton.ca. Bring identification showing your name and address. If you can, make a plan: pick your day, pick your time, and tell one neighbour your plan, because people who make a plan vote, and people who mean to get around to it often do not.

Why it matters here

Municipal elections are decided by a fraction of the people affected by them, which means every single Ward 9 ballot carries real weight. The councillor chosen on October 26 will make four years of decisions about your taxes, your streets, your parks, and your family’s safety. That decision should be made by as many of us as possible.

Make your plan. Cast your ballot. Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Thank You for Voting Early

Two advance voting weekends are done, and the lines at Valley Park told the story. Families with strollers, seniors who made it their Saturday errand, neighbours who came together in one car. If you were one of them, thank you.

I have stood outside that community centre for four days now, and the thing I keep hearing is some version of the same sentence: "I wanted to get it done." That is Upper Stoney Creek. We do not wait around.

Why the early vote matters so much

In 2022, roughly a quarter of all the votes in Ward 9 were cast before election day. The advance vote is not a warm-up. It decides races.

Every ballot cast early is one less thing that can go wrong on October 26. A sick kid, a late shift, a snow squall off the lake. None of it can keep your voice out of this election once your vote is in the box.

One weekend left

The last advance weekend is Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Valley Park Community Centre, 970 Paramount Drive. One piece of ID with your name and Ward 9 address. No voter card needed.

If you have already voted, you have one job left: find one neighbour who has not, and bring them. A text, a knock, a ride. That is how this gets won.

Election day is Monday, October 26, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., at any Ward 9 poll.

Thank you for trusting me with your vote. I will spend the next four years earning it. Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

What You Heard at the Ward 9 Debate

On September 22, Cable 14 hosted the Ward 9 candidates’ debate. If you missed it, the full video is online. Here is the short version.

The numbers, confirmed on air

I asked about three votes. Sixty million dollars to speed up bike lanes. A Red Hill inquiry that grew to twenty-seven million. A five million dollar overrun on the tiny homes project. That is ninety-two million dollars, and on stage, the incumbent confirmed he voted for every one of them.

Not one dollar of that built a road, fixed a sidewalk, or put an officer in Upper Stoney Creek. That is the choice on the ballot. It is not about party. It is about where the money goes.

What I said I would do

Before City Hall asks you for more, it should find the waste in what it already takes. Contracts, consultants, and procurement get reviewed first. That is how lower tax increases start.

A police substation on Isaac Brock, more officers in Upper Stoney Creek, and physical traffic calming where kids play.

Push the Province until they say yes on uploading the LINC and Red Hill, and put every dollar saved into rebuilding the local streets you drive every day.

Real relief from the GFL odour: physical mitigation now, and work to close the landfill for good.

On the personal attack

At one point, instead of defending his record, the incumbent went after me for my politics. I will let residents judge that for themselves. I would rather spend the next four years answering for results than for labels.

Watch the debate, read the plan, and decide. Then vote. Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Happy Thanksgiving, Upper Stoney Creek

Happy Thanksgiving, Upper Stoney Creek.

Before the turkey goes in, I wanted to say thank you. Not as a candidate. As a neighbour who grew up on these streets and is grateful to still call them home.

What I am thankful for this year

The people who open the door. Thousands of you have stopped what you were doing to tell me what you want for this community. Nobody has to do that. You did.

The volunteers. The sign crew out in the rain. The people knocking doors on their day off. The ones making phone calls at the kitchen table after the kids are asleep. This campaign is you.

The businesses that are still here. Highland Pizza, Symposium, Greek City Grill, Highland Variety, and every family-run shop that kept the lights on through a hard few years. You are the reason this community still feels like one.

And the place itself. The concession roads above the escarpment, the kids at Valley Park, the fireworks we are going to bring back. There is nowhere else I would rather be.

Wishing you and your family a safe, warm weekend with the people who matter most. And if you are looking for a five-minute errand between dinner and dessert, advance polls are open at Valley Park. Happy Thanksgiving.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

To the Teachers of Upper Stoney Creek, Thank You

October 5 is World Teachers’ Day, and I did not want it to pass without saying thank you.

Growing up in Upper Stoney Creek, at every step of the way, there was a teacher who noticed something, pushed a little, or stayed after the bell. I did not grow up with much. Teachers were a big part of how I got from there to here.

The job is harder than it used to be

Ask any teacher in Upper Stoney Creek and they will tell you the same thing. Bigger classes, more kids who need extra support, and more of their own money spent on supplies. They do it anyway.

What a councillor can actually do

Schools are a provincial responsibility and a councillor does not run them. But the streets around them are ours. Safer crossings and physical traffic calming in school zones. Better lighting on the walk home. Recreation and after-school programs at Valley Park, so the work teachers do during the day is not undone at 3:30. And a councillor who shows up when a school asks for help, because that is what the job is.

To every teacher, EA, custodian, and office staff in Ward 9: thank you for what you do for our kids. Because better is possible, and you are a big part of why.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Small Business Week: The Shops That Keep Upper Stoney Creek Running

October 18 to 24 is Small Business Week in Canada. I am a small business owner, so I know what a slow month feels like and what a City Hall bill does to a budget.

This campaign has taken me into dozens of Ward 9 businesses. Highland Pizza. Symposium Cafe. Greek City Grill. Highland Variety. Barbers, plazas, family restaurants, trades working out of a truck. Here is what they tell me.

What owners are saying

The cost of doing business in Hamilton keeps climbing, and the service does not climb with it. Property taxes up more than 20 percent since 2022. Permits that take months. Calls to City Hall that go unanswered. Owners are not asking for a handout. They are asking for a city that gets out of the way and does the basics.

What I will push for

Value for money before City Hall asks businesses for more. Review contracts and consultants first, so lower tax increases are possible without cutting services.

Faster, simpler permits and licensing, with firm timelines, so a renovation does not sit on a desk for a season.

A councillor’s office that answers the phone. Every call and email gets a response within a set number of days, tracked and published.

Safer streets and plazas, because a business cannot thrive where customers do not feel safe parking after dark.

This week, pick one local spot you have not been to in a while and go. If you haven’t been, you’re missing out. Because better is possible, and it starts on our own main streets.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

You Will Not Be Left High and Dry

No matter what street I am on, I hear the same thing. People reach out to City Hall to get something fixed on their street, and nothing happens. The phone call is not returned. The email is ignored. They are left high and dry.

Patrick’s street

I met Patrick, a Ward 9 resident, after a watermain break on his street. He did what you are supposed to do. He called. He emailed. He waited. What he got back was silence and a road that stayed broken longer than it needed to.

Patrick is not a complainer. He is a neighbour who wanted a basic thing fixed and could not get anyone to tell him when. There are a lot of Patricks in Upper Stoney Creek.

I have built the processes before

I have developed service processes across ministers’ offices, an MP’s office, and Crown corporations. I know what it takes to track a request from the moment it comes in to the moment it is resolved, and I know how to get things done on time and on budget.

My service promise

Every call and email to my office gets a response within a set number of days. Not a form letter. A person, with a next step.

Every request gets a file number, an owner, and a status you can check.

Quarterly reporting on how fast we resolved things, published for everyone to see.

The campaign line is on the flyer in your mailbox. Call or text anytime, and a person will answer.

Your voice heard, your concerns answered, and your problem resolved. That is how we bring change to Ward 9. Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

A Stolen Sign Does Not Change a Vote

In the week before advance voting opened, roughly 250 of our lawn signs disappeared from front lawns across Ward 9. Some were pulled overnight. Some were found in ditches. A few residents caught it on a doorbell camera.

What it tells me

Honestly, it tells me the message is landing. Nobody steals a sign from a campaign that is not a threat.

But a sign is not a vote. The family that put it up still lives there. They still know what they want for this community, and they still know where Valley Park is. Taking a sign off a lawn changes nothing except the lawn.

What we are doing

Every stolen sign gets replaced, free, as fast as the crew can get there. Request one at votejonathan.ca/request-a-sign and we will put it up for you.

If your sign goes missing, tell us. If you have camera footage, keep it. Sign theft is a police matter and we report it.

And we ordered 500 more.

To the more than 500 households with a sign on the lawn right now: thank you. You are telling your street that it is time for change. Nobody can pull that out of the ground. Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.

Why People Who Have Done the Job Are Backing This Campaign

Endorsements are easy to collect and easy to ignore. These four are different, because each of them has done the job, or a bigger one, and knows exactly what it takes.

Doug Conley, former Ward 9 Councillor

Doug represented Upper Stoney Creek on council for years. He knows every road, every plaza, and every file in this ward. He is backing me because he believes in the plan and the experience to deliver it. He also did not wait: Doug cast his vote for change at Valley Park on the first day of advance voting.

Bob Bratina, former Mayor of Hamilton

Bob has served this city as a councillor, as mayor, and as our Member of Parliament. You would be hard-pressed to find someone who knows Hamilton better. His advice has been straight, and his support means a great deal.

Paul Miller, former MPP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek

Paul is a steelworker who fought for Hamilton workers at Queen’s Park and on council. He believes in my plan and my experience to deliver for working families, and he said so publicly.

Ken Hewitt, former Mayor of Haldimand County

Ken ran a municipality for three terms and knows rural communities. His endorsement matters most above the escarpment, from Tapleytown to Vinemount, where too many residents feel City Hall forgot them.

Four people who have held office and know what the job demands have looked at this campaign and said: this is the one. I am grateful, and I intend to prove them right. Because better is possible.

Have thoughts on this? I want to hear from you. Email info@votejonathan.ca.