Oops! All Trustees!

This week in The Incline:

• The other, other candidates for local office

• The factsheet

• The methodology

  • The Basics

  • The Specifics

  • The Campaign Details

• The analysis

  • The HWDSB Races

  • The HWCDSB Races

  • The French-language acclamations

The other, other candidates for local office

This weekend, the first Advance Polls open in the 2026 Hamilton, Ontario municipal election.

That won’t be the first opportunity some have had to vote; many Hamiltonians have already been afforded a chance to cast ballots and the community polls held in large apartment buildings across the city last weekend or at the special “ballot on demand” poll that’s open at Lime Ridge Mall.

Credit where it’s due, the City of Hamilton has dramatically expanded the opportunities folks have to cast ballots in this election. While the number of election day polling stations has been reduced, there are more weekends of advance voting than ever before, more “ballot-on-demand” opportunities than most are used to, and some notable changes that should make the actual voting process much simpler for many people.

The new “vote anywhere” model of organizing polling stations is the most interesting of the changes, as it (kinda) uncouples voters from geography. Instead of being funneled into a very specific poll on election day, you can now cast a ballot at any polling station in your ward.

Live in Stinson but find yourself at Bernie Morelli Rec Centre taking in a swim? You can vote right there. Just dry off first.

Strathcona resident but you’re at the Rifle Range Fortinos grabbing something for dinner? Go ahead and vote at St. Mary’s.

Hang your hat out in Jerseyville but you’re in the Meadowlands, battling the crowds in the Costco parking lot? Take a deep breath, meditate for a second, and then head on over to Ancaster Meadow Elementary to do your civic duty. And then maybe try the Brantford Costco; I’ve heard it’s a little less chaotic.

You get my point.

While the city’s mayoral and council candidates have been campaigning hard for your votes (in some cases, for years already), voters still have a lot of unanswered questions about the other, other folks for whom they are expected to cast ballots in the days up to and including October 26.

Across Hamilton, there are 22 trustee seats across four publicly-funded school boards that are elected at the same time as councillors and the mayor. That’s 11 English Public trustees, 9 English Catholic trustees, and one trustee each for the French Public and French Catholic school boards.

The two largest boards - the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) and the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB) - were created in 1997 when the government of Mike Harris amalgamated smaller boards across the province in the name of efficiency. In Hamilton, that meant merging the urban and suburban boards into one board and subsequently slashing the number of trustees. Public electors in Hamilton and the surrounding area went from electing 28 trustees to just 11. Catholics went from 21 to just 9. Those new numbers are ones that cannot legally increase without the province’s approval. So, even though the city’s population has increased by over 100,000 since then, we can’t add any more trustees to serve a growing population.

The French-language boards that serve Hamilton were created at the same time, but originally as “French Language Public Board No. 58” and “French Language Separate Board No. 64”. Prior to that, French language education was a responsibility of the other boards, but was spun off and, at the same time, downsized, to create just 12 French boards across Ontario. Now, Hamilton has one dedicated French Catholic trustee for the “Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir” (aka the “My Future Catholic School Board”) and a French Public trustee shared with Halton and Brant for the “Conseil scolaire Viamonde” (aka the “Worldwide School Board”).

In the time since 1997, Hamilton has been served by 47 different English Public trustees and 26 English Catholic trustees (fun fact on the latter: there has been at least 1 “Agostino” or “Valvasori” on the Catholic board since it was created - during the 2010-2014 term, there were 2 of each!).

Every election, there are a handful of acclamations, a few interesting races, and a whole lot of meh from the electorate.

While trustees do not have the power to set curricula or meaningfully impact what is taught, they do manage the day-to-day of public education, oversee the school buildings themselves, and set budgets that impact everyone.

Whether you pay property tax or rent, some of that money is going into our public schools. You pay into the system, which is why you get a say in its governance, even if you don’t have any children attending school.

The HWDSB has an operating budget of $740.9 million for the coming year, with another $127.6 million in capital spending for three new schools, additions on two, five much-needed accessibility projects, and general board-wide school renewal. The HWCDSB’s operating budget is at $437.8 million with another $67.1 million dedicated to their own capital projects. All together, that’s $1.37 billion in education money managed by a handful of people most Hamiltonians couldn’t pick out of a very small crowd.

So, given that you, humble Hamiltonian elector, will be asked to select your local trustee when you cast your municipal ballot this month, it’s probably worth getting to know the people offering themselves up as candidates.

The #HamOnt 2026 School Trustee Candidates factsheet

In 2022, I created a Google Sheets list of all the people running for school trustee seats across Hamilton to help people find a little bit more information on the candidates before they voted.

I really felt like it helped people compare and contrast the candidates running in their wards. Many people reached out to say they appreciated having a list of people to compare and some candidates sent notes of appreciation for my efforts to try and shed light on races that weren’t getting any substantive coverage in local media.

But, as with everything I do, it came along with a certain amount of controversy. Some trustee candidates reached out to say I had unfairly excluded them. Some became upset that I highlighted aspects of their online presence or political views that they did not want discussed. It was a mixed bag on the “trustee response” side.

While I didn’t think I would have the time or energy to do it again, I found myself getting questions from people all over about their trustee candidates in the lead-up to this election. I couldn’t let an opportunity for more civic engagement go to waste, so I spent a couple of days putting together another sheet.

Here, for your general information, is the #HamOnt 2026 School Trustee Candidates factsheet:

The methodology

The purpose behind the factsheet is to provide some basic information to familiarize voters with the candidates in their wards. The information isn’t intended to be exhaustive, but give people some idea as to whomever is running so they can take a look at the available campaign materials on their own or know what’s what before engaging with the candidates whenever they have an opportunity.

Let’s go through what’s on the sheet:

The Basics

The basic information is…well…pretty basic.

School board, ward, name, and email are all drawn from the City of Hamilton’s candidate list. And a candidate’s main campaign website/page comes from a basic internet search.

I’ve labelled each candidate based on whether they’re an incumbent (currently holding that seat), a challenger (trying to win that seat from the incumbent), or if they’re running in an “open race”, meaning the incumbent trustee decided to not run for any reason.

I have labelled two candidates as “changing” their seats. The HWCDSB’s Tyler Iorio, who was appointed to fill long-time trustee Pat Daly Jr.’s Ward 7 seat when he resigned last year has moved over to Wards 9 & 11. He’s been acclaimed to that seat, so that means he wins by default. The same goes for Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir trustee Nathalie Dufour Seguin, who is currently serving as one of the City of Toronto’s trustees, but has moved to Hamilton and been acclaimed.

On that point, there’s an interesting thing happening with the HWCDSB race in Ward 6 that deserves an explanation. Incumbent Ellen Agostino is running against two candidates: Anthony Mari, who also ran in 2022, and Joanne Belanger.

Belanger has 7 years of trustee experience with the Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board, including serving as the Quinte West trustee for that board up until very recently. That’s because, a short while ago, Belanger moved to Hamilton. Upon moving, she was legally required to vacate her seat (you can’t be a trustee for a board into which you do not pay taxes), so she is no longer in office. Therefore, Belanger isn’t “changing” her seat, since she’s no longer an elected official.

Belanger’s situation is different than Dufour Seguin’s. The latter hasn’t moved outside the boundaries of the MonAvenir board, meaning she still pays taxes to that particular system. Because of this, she didn’t need to resign, so she’s simply moving seats.

Complicated!

The Specifics

The “Length in office” category was calculated by me based on any available information regarding how long someone has been an elected trustee. I don’t count student trustee terms (as those are appointed by the board) or any other elected offices held (though no trustee candidate running has held any other office above positions in a student union).

So far the longest serving public trustee is Ward 6 & 9’s Kathy Archer at 15 years. Ward 10’s Mary Nardini is the longest serving Catholic trustee at 23 years. Dufour Seguin has served around 16 years, bouncing d'une région à l'autre.

The political experience column is drawn from readily-available news stories, social media posts, historical records, and the Elections Canada donor database.

In this category, I’ve included the past elections in which a candidate has run, the other political activities in which they’ve engaged, any major positions held (again, mostly student union spots). There’s only one candidate - Wards 5 & 10 HWDSB candidate Logan Shields - whose experience column is iffy, as I can’t confirm the information I have about their political activities (namely whether they’re the contact for the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek Ontario Green Party riding association).

Of the 27 people running for HWDSB spots, 18 have some political experience, be it serving as a student trustee, donating to federal parties, actively campaigning for candidates at other levels, or running for any other elected office at any time. Same goes for 15 of the 19 HWCDSB candidates.

A candidate’s profession is based on what they’ve indicated they do, what the media has said they do, or what’s present in their LinkedIn profiles. Finding professions for candidates can be a challenge, especially at the school board level, as people usually highlight their family status or school experience, as opposed to what they do for their day job. I think it is important to highlight the profession of candidates, as trustees aren’t paid enough to quit said day jobs and usually have to hold down both their regular gigs and the role of trustee.

The Campaign Details

Then there’s the ghost category. This one might be a little controversial, but hear me out.

If someone registers to run for public office, they’re tacitly agreeing to put at least some of themselves into the public spotlight. It isn’t unreasonable for voters to ask “what do you do?”, “what are your qualifications?”, and “why do you want this job?” when considering a candidate for office.

If a candidate registers and then does almost nothing to tell people about what their platform is, what their motivations are, and why they might want to be on a board that manages millions of dollars of public money, some red flags shoot up. It shouldn’t be a struggle for a voter to open a search engine, type in the name of a candidate, and find at least some information on that candidate. A school board candidate can’t be expected to make direct contact with each voter in their ward (which can sometimes span massive areas), so having even a modest online presence is key to being a viable candidate. Like, a basic webpage or, at the very least, a social media presence, is the absolute bare minimum for being considered a contender.

If it was a genuine struggle to find anything about a candidate, I labeled them a “ghost”. Incumbents or people who have previously served in elected office are not given “ghost” tags, nor are those who have at least some presence online.

Right now, there are 5 Public and 4 Catholic ghost candidates. I am happy to change those designations as more information comes to light.

The platform points column showcases a candidate’s main priorities and the values on which they are running. In many cases, I’ve abridged platforms for space without changing the spirit of the point itself. If there is no apparent platform available online, I simply put “no available platform at this time” in the column.

For HWDSB candidates, 9 have no discernable platform, including two of the incumbents seeking re-election. A full 11 HWCDSB trustee candidates do not have a platform, including three incumbents.

Again, happy to fill in information as it comes to light.

Since it’s become a big thing, I’ve added a category highlighting if a candidate used generative AI in their campaign materials. There’s very little certainty when it comes to determining if someone used AI, so I went off the typical hallmarks of AI imagery and if language on a website or in promotional material had apparent slop markers.

I have three labels for that column: likely, unlikely, and indeterminate.

“Likely” is if it really looks like AI was used or it’s fairly obvious AI wrote pieces of a website or promotional material. Some candidates openly used AI-generated posters and graphics. Others, like Ward 2 HWDSB candidate Anthony Chepil, had websites that just screamed AI (Chepil’s site is peppered throughout with American spelling, platform points that draw from American school board issues, and refers to wards as “districts”). “Unlikely” is if I really couldn’t see any AI influence. “Indeterminate” is if some things looked like AI, but it was impossible to tell if the material was AI-designed or styled to look that way.

And the final category is “notes/facts”. These are piece of information about the candidate or campaign that might help voters make a decision, might add context to their candidacy, or might give some more insight into anything that wasn’t made clear in the other columns.

This is where I put tidbits, factoids, and other miscellaneous information that might be of interest to voters. This is stuff like any endorsements they might have given during this round of elections, any newsworthy items about them, or anything else that helps voters develop a more robust picture of the candidates in the race.

There’s a blank category for “endorsements”, meaning those who have endorsed trustee candidates explicitly. I haven’t yet seen any endorsements from the Labour Council, any of the teachers’ unions, or any of the other various groups around town that sometimes back trustee candidates. Groups that made a huge stink during the last election aren’t on the scene anymore (The New Blue Party-affiliated “StopWoke.ca” is the notable example - their website is even down at this point. After they couldn’t even muster 50,000 votes in the last provincial election, I think their already-meagre influence has entirely faded).

Another group that’s been weirdly silent are the ultra-right wing Christian nationalists over at the Campaign Life Coalition. While the group is usually militant about highlighting the anti-choice candidates running for trustee (and the morally unsupportable for reasons of deviant homosexuality like yours truly back in 2014), they haven’t bothered to put together a candidate sheet for this election.

But, once again, as things pop up, I’ll fill in the sheet to make sure everyone has as much information as possible before casting a ballot.

The analysis

When I was putting together the trustee factsheet, I tried to present things as plainly as possible. Yeah, I have my politics, but I did what I could to present the platforms of and information about each of the candidates in a balanced way.

But I know folks come here for both facts AND opinion. And we all know how bad I am at keeping my opinions to myself.

The HWDSB Races

These are the races in which I have the most invested, as I am, myself, a public school elector and (I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this) past candidate for the HWDSB.

I’ll start off by saying I’m glad that Ward 4 trustee Abby Zaitley and new Ward 13 trustee Chris Slye have already won their races. Acclamations aren’t the best for democracy, but I think both candidates will be a positive addition to the public board. Zaitley won a decisive victory in the 2025 by-election, becoming the first non-Ray Mulholland trustee for the area in decades, and has proven to be a smart and attentive representative in the east end. And Slye has solid progressive cred, giving the Valley Town a good, forward-thinking, responsible voice on the board after Paul Tut decided to not run for another term.

Elsewhere across the city, there are some very impressive non-incumbent candidates. These comments are not intended to be endorsements, but simple observations about the campaigns thus-far and the people who I would strongly consider were I able to vote in these wards:

• Cameron Prosic (Ward 1) was extremely impressive during the 2022 campaign. Prosic’s performance at the Ward 1 neighbourhood association debate which I helped organize was great. It’s clear from the campaign this time that Prosic’s got a great grasp of the issues and the dedication to offer himself up as a candidate again.

• Megan Shanahan (Ward 3) has been running a positive, grassroots campaign on a very achievable and realistic platform. Shanahan has been using Instagram to connect with voters, is focused on systemic-level issues, and has a keen eye for mental health issues that are important in today’s schools.

• Kory Preston (Ward 3) is also a strong contender with ample government experience and a very professional campaign. Another good grasp of the issues and a willingness to talk about how technology can be used to keep people in the loop about school board issues.

• Seth Floyd (Ward 7) is a dedicated community activist with a passion for engagement and the responsible use of technology. A very interesting campaign that centres connection to the natural world and providing students with more opportunities to get outdoors.

• Marlon Picken (Ward 7) has been a friend for a long while. Another dedicated community activist, he always throws himself into progressive causes and is a very hard campaign worker.

• Duante Hillen (Wards 8 & 14) is a very impressive young leader in the community. Hillen has taken on big challenges and is always ready to stand up for people who need it the most. His student trustee days have proven he’s already got what it takes to serve in public office. No matter what happens in this election, Hillen is on the path to being a dynamic and reliable leader in our community.

• Ben O’Reilly (Wards 8 & 14) isn’t just a friend of The Incline; he’s got one of the most detailed and focused platforms out there. He’s got a deep, personal connection to public education on the west mountain and his impressive campaign in 2022 has laid the groundwork for an equally impressive campaign this time around. Innovative ideas, workable solutions, and the kind of attentiveness that is needed at the board table. The electors of Wards 8 & 14 would be well served with O’Reilly as their trustee.

As we got closer to the end of the nomination period, there was some concern that right-wing culture warriors would brigade the election and run candidates across the city. That ended up not happening for entirely unknown reasons.

There are a few notable right-of-centre candidates running, though almost none have dipped into culture war territory.

The right-wing activist Blake Hambly is running in Ward 1. Much was made of his involvement with McMaster’s campus “Turning Point” group and his working on the senate campaign of pro-Trump Arizona Republican Kelli Ward when he faced off against Alex Johnstone for the Wards 11 & 12 trustee position back in 2018. While he’s been open online about his support for Rob Cooper’s mayoral candidacy this time around, his school board platform is fairly straightforward, if not a little sparse.

Local author and publisher Bill King is running in Ward 7. His platform includes points about “focusing on core competencies”, merit-based promotions, prioritizing the family, and bringing Hamilton Police Service officers back into schools. King, an extremely prolific Facebook user, generated a little controversy when he reposted a picture of Ward 2 councillor Cameron Kroetsch and Ward 2 trustee Sabreina Dahab standing with a canvassing crew in Durand Park, captioning it “I’m finally convinced that Hamilton parks are unsafe. 😔”. To King’s credit, he removed the post when challenged by community leaders like Graham Crawford, but still. Considering King endorsed and was campaigning for another Ward 2 candidate before registering to run himself, that’s not a great look. Nor does King’s post inspire confidence, considering the number of Code of Conduct issues elected officials across Hamilton have been stepping into as of late.

The most overt of the culture warriors running, though, is Bryan Johnson in Wards 8 & 14. His campaign Facebook page’s profile photo is Johnson shaking hands with Pierre Poilievre, which is one of the most tame aspects of his candidacy.

Johnson has posted that “School is for Sports, Sciences, language and arts…not social engineering”, is campaigning on using progressive discipline, removing “biased” and “age-inappropriate” books from schools, bringing the HPS back into classrooms, and has lamented trustees being too “woke”. One of his campaign posts rages about how “Christian teachers are being persecuted” for taking down Pride flags in classrooms. Considering hate crimes and incidents against queer Hamiltonians continue to be an issue, it is upsetting to see a candidate for trustee try to use our community to score political points.

The HWCDSB Races

There are very few actual races on the Catholic side. Of the board’s 9 trustees, four have already been acclaimed, meaning voters in Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, and 15 have already got their 2026-2030 trustees.

Returning to the board after 12 years away is Ralph Agostino, who served on the board from 1994 to 2014 until he ran in that year’s Ward 3 councillor election, coming in a distant second behind eventual winner, Matthew Green. Since then, Agostino has run for HWCDSB trustee twice and was a candidate in the Ward 8 by-election, where he earned just 36 votes and placed 15th. But now he’s back, acclaimed to a term as the Wards 3 & 4 HWCDSB trustee after incumbent trustee Josie Angelini opted to not run for a second term.

The remaining Catholic trustee races will be interesting to watch. The aforementioned Ward 6 race will be fascinating, as will the race to fill the Ward 7 seat after decades of dominance by Pat Daly Jr., who is now serving as Executive Director of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees Association.

The race in Ward 8 & 14 will similarly be interesting to watch. My high school principal, John Valvasori, was one of a crew of “reform” trustee candidates who swept the board in 2010. After Daly’s retirement, Valvasori became the board chair. But now, Jessica Bonilla-Damptey, the spouse of Ward 14 council candidate Kojo Damptey, is running, giving Valvasori his first high-profile challenger in a very long time.

In Ward 10, Andrea Di Nicola is again running against long-time trustee Mary Nardini. It was a close race last time in a ward with a significant Catholic population and a very competitive council race, so voter turnout might be up there, meaning it could be anybody’s race.

Wards 12 & 13 is a little more chaotic. Two-term incumbent Phil Homerski is up against three relatively unknown challengers, including Mac student Christopher Xenos, who has earned a reputation in the McMaster Student Union as something of a rebel. Xenos did the unthinkable as a first-year student, and ran for the presidency of the MSU (a decided faux pas back in my day), only to place last with 192 votes. The other challengers have no online presence, but they could be connected to their school/parish communities and may be focusing their campaigning there.

The French-language acclamations

Both French-language trustees have been acclaimed and both will be new to their roles in the Hamilton-area. As I’ve noted before, the French boards in Hamilton are expanding somewhat, with at least one new school being planned in Ainslie Wood. Both trustees will have to manage this growing enrollment and work collaboratively with their English-language counterparts to ensure students across Hamilton are well-served.

Even though they’ve been acclaimed, they won’t have time to…well…you know…niaiser avec la puck.

It is incredibly important to not skip over the trustee section of your ballot. You pay into the system and you deserve a say as to how it is managed.

Many candidates for trustee run because they want to help their local school community. Many run because they want to generate a larger public profile for a campaign at a different level later on. And many run because they have a particular grievance and want a platform from which they can complain.

In this election, the voters of Hamilton are being offered a very diverse slate of candidates with differing levels of experience, different areas of focus, and lots of different ideas on how to guide each of our boards over the next four years.

You’re being given a chance to have a say and help pick the direction of some of our most important public institutions.

Don’t give up that say. Your vote matters.

Learn about your candidates, ask questions, talk to friends, and get out and vote.

Happy voting, Hamilton!