The next municipal election is getting closer, and I think Hamilton residents really need to look past names, slogans and political loyalties and ask a simple question:
Who is actually going to make this city better?
I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, and before deciding who deserves our vote, I think it’s worth looking at where Hamilton stands now, what residents are frustrated about, and what needs to change.
That also means taking a fair look at the record of our current mayor.
Our current mayor is Andrea Horwath, who has held the position since 2022. With another election approaching, I think it’s fair to look at the record rather than the campaign slogans.
The facts:
• Residential property taxes have increased roughly 23% compounded over the 4 budgets since she took office.
• Hamilton’s 2025 homelessness count reached 1,304 people, up 7% from 2024.
• The city introduced an encampment protocol allowing camping in certain public spaces, then later scrapped it and returned to enforcing the parks camping ban.
• The Barton-Tiffany shelter project was budgeted at $2.8 million and ballooned to almost $8 million.
• The 40 shelters were sourced from China through an American intermediary, using a newly formed company with no established track record. Experienced Canadian companies capable of supplying locally manufactured shelters were passed over during the procurement process.
• Hamilton’s own Auditor General later found poor planning, inadequate vendor research, weak oversight and poor cost control. The imported units also required additional work to meet Ontario standards.
• That same project was temporarily stopped by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour for regulatory non-compliance.
• The 2024 cyberattack crippled city services, exposed serious weaknesses in Hamilton’s cybersecurity, governance and emergency preparedness, and had cost approximately $18.3 million in response and recovery by June 2025.
• Horwath once called strong-mayor powers unnecessary and potentially dangerous, then later used them herself.
• Downtown disorder, open drug use and public-safety concerns remain major issues.
So what are Hamilton residents saying?
The complaints I keep seeing online are pretty consistent:
• Taxes and city costs keep climbing.
• Too much spending, not enough visible improvement.
• Homelessness and encampments remain major problems.
• Downtown disorder, open drug use and safety concerns continue.
• Roads and infrastructure still frustrate residents.
• City Hall is seen by many as lacking accountability.
• Horwath is often described as ineffective, absent or slow to act.
• Critics say too many campaign promises have produced too little.
• The Barton-Tiffany shelter project is repeatedly cited as an example of poor planning and wasted money.
• Her landlord/property controversy has raised accusations of hypocrisy.
• Some residents say she talks about action more than they actually see it.
That doesn’t mean every criticism is automatically fair. But when the same complaints keep surfacing, a mayor running for re-election has to answer them.
Then there’s the timing of her recent personal disclosure.
In August 2026, while facing scrutiny over the deteriorating West Avenue property occupied by her former partner, Horwath publicly disclosed that she had been in an abusive relationship with him.
I’m not questioning the abuse. I’m questioning the timing.
Two days later, she announced she was running for mayor again.
Convenient timing for a story guaranteed to shift attention and generate sympathy.
With the upcoming election, we really need to choose someone who is going to benefit Hamilton.
In my opinion, this is what the next mayor needs to do:
• Better control of spending. Find waste before automatically handing taxpayers another increase.
• Fix the basics. Roads, infrastructure, garbage, transit and core municipal services need to work.
• A real homelessness strategy. Help people into housing, treatment and support while keeping parks and public spaces usable for everyone.
• Restore the downtown. Open drug use, disorder and public-safety concerns shouldn’t simply become accepted as normal.
• Support local business and jobs. Make Hamilton easier to invest in, build in and operate a business in.
• More housing, built intelligently. Growth needs to match infrastructure and transit capacity.
• Accountability and transparency at City Hall. When projects go millions over budget or fail, somebody needs to explain why and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Hamilton doesn’t need another mayor who can explain why everything is difficult.
It needs one who can show us what actually got better.