Raise the Hammer

14

Matt Jelly was right- Everyone for mayor.

Matt Jelly is right on the money! Everybody for Mayor!

A far cry from the Bob Morrow days. That was a dark time.

Good thing most people aren't wise to the fact that mayoral bids can be applied toward high school volunteer requirements and community service sentences.

No women?

I haven't heard anything about most of them and nothing from the other person running in my ward... :(

AnneMarie I nominate you :) lol

No such thing as bad publicity?

http://mackaycartoons.net/2005/huh2005-02-23.html
http://mackaycartoons.net/2007/huh2007-04-14.html

Good news for ward 2 but not the city. Bob always talks out of both sides of his mouth. He may get elected just by coming up the middle between the votes for Eisenberger and DiIanni. The man who wanted to keep city hall in a shopping mall, good grief this guy may be personable on the radio and have the gift of the gab, but is not leadership material. Bob is known more for his antics and temperament than things he has really done. I love Hamilton too but that doesn't make me qualified to be mayor! Ask people in ward 2 how effective Bratina will be. NOT It upsets me to think he could win by chance.

Well, no women, but a few of these guys have been known to dress in womens apparel.

I also noticed no women on the list and thought it strange.

I hope the spec gives some coverage to more of them than just Fred, Larry and Bob. There are plenty of options, and I'd like to see what qualifications some of the others have and learn more about them.

CHML has a poll up. DiIanni's way ahead at the moment.

http://www.900chml.com/index.aspx

Well now we know who DiIanni's supporters are.

yeah, Bratina's co-workers.

It is really strange there's no women on the list...

I still think the best candidate out there with any chance of winning is Mayor Fred, and I certainly hope this city doesn't regress to past mistakes.

It's too bad Ian Deans wasn't a younger man. He is one of the best politicians this city has ever had or produced. A real man of the people who could get things done even though he was in a minority party. When he ran and was elected for the NDP numerous times, his support crossed all party lines. He is one of the reasons I got involved in politics at a very young age.

I used to like Bratina, but after the last year, I don't know how much lower my opinion of him can drop.

Bob Bratina has been a very passonate worker for his ward. Possibly the toughest ward to manage in the city. Anyone remember Corsini?

Also, Bob Morrow could be primed for a comeback.

Ian Deans

Bratina always opposed west harbour, and gave his reasons, none of these reasons changed but all of a sudden businesses thought that if you build a stadium close to downtown their business would pick up. Bratina thought uh oh these are the people who are going to be voting for me in ward 2, I better completely change my mind and prostitute myself for their votes. This is the worst kind of politician.

"Anyone remember Corsini?"

Spanked twice in council bids by Andrea Horwath. Silver-haired Cable 14 talking head. Used to dye his hair shoewax black, made him look like a Groucho imitator. Believed in James N for 25 years as a businessman then spat in its eye as a politician: http://www.raisethehammer.org/article/511/hamiltons_future:_forget_about_it.

I thought the"SALE" of The Mustard Festival was "Fishy" to say the least.Now it appears that Political Malfeasance and Double Dealing was likely at work! The previous Commentator is correct that the Elected Ward representative must have known and possibly Colluded in this "Criminality" especially when its now retired Executive Director was receiving Taxpayers Funding, whether direct or indirect in wages and grants.It certainly demands an in depth investigation by other than the usual "Cover Up Artists" as to HOW it happened and WHY it was allowed and WHAT to do to put it right!

Imagine Larry DiIanni and Marvin Caplan both back at city hall???
Wow.

I'll parade naked through the streets if it would get us term limits. LOL

The Empire Strikes Back.

@Jason: I'll join you. They'll give us term limits just to make me stop.

13 being considered an Unlucky Number by some people I think that Sheila Copps should throw her hat into the ring. Hey no matter what you individually think of her "She Is Nobody's Baby" which alone distinguishes her from most of "The RAT Pack " running! She has more "Balls" than the "Wusses" who are the so called front runners,has a "Wealth" of Experience Of having been and dealing with all levels of Governance,comes from a Family of "Outspoken Activists", and is a Scion of the last Decent and Intelligent Mayor we had, way back in our Glory Days before the "Forces Of Stupidity and Inaction" brought us to today's Decline and Insignificance as a Major Player in Ontario's Future!

Some background on Tone Marrone: http://www.petertassi.com/tone-marrone.php

Also, would term limits be consecutive, or simply a chronological thing (eg: you can serve 12 years max on council and 8 as mayor during your lifetime)?

I assume term limits done properly mean that once you're done, you're done. You don't see George Bush running for President again. Or any other ex president.

Is Bernie Morelli the last dinosayr from the good ole days?

Comment edited by TnT on 2010-09-04 22:23:19

Russ Powers arguably has 25 years as a Dundas Councillor.

Dundas Council 1982-2000
Hamilton City Councillor 2001-2004
MP, ADFW 2004-2006
Hamilton City Councillor 2006-2010

"I assume term limits done properly mean that once you're done, you're done. You don't see George Bush running for President again. Or any other ex president."

You're limited to two terms as president, but you could serve as a senator or congressman for life. So we could have a permanent council that is replaced only as they die, and a mayor limited by how often they could successfully get re-elected? Does anyone imagine a preferable definition of "properly"? Mightn't three terms in any position be enough?

Jackson has been around since 1988...has hinted at a run for Mayor several times but stays safe in his Wardom. Merulla has been around for several terms...grandstands on issues he knows he will lose when voted upon, so he doesn't create any work for himself.

I'm pretty sure Mitchell is the longest serving.

Again, where are the women candidates?

Bob Bratina part of the problem: indecisive, too backward-looking. No one's done more harm to downtown core than Bratina.

Larry DiIanni has a serious image problem.

Where are the younger candidates: like Brad Clark, Sam Merulla?

So all we need to do is upset a majority of incumbents and replace them with progressive, selfless folk who'll vote in term limits that will impact themselves first. Easy peasy!

who the hell is ken leach?

I'm still trying to find more information on a few of the lesser-known candidates, but what I can say is that:

-Pasquale Filice is a local photographer and legal specialist, just without a law degree, Tone Marrone (pronounced Tony as far as I know) is the man from the Ultramatic commercials and was once an offensive lineman for the Ti-Cats and Victor Veri has been connected with the ominous-sounding "Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario".

Any more links or leads would be great, and as soon as I find out more, I'll be posting it on the 2010 Election Wiki page!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton,_O...

Comment edited by C. Erl on 2010-09-06 18:13:58

Yeah, you gotta watch those Christian farmers. Sometimes they get a hundredfold return on their wheat crops!

I do understand the suspicion towards anything religious, but man... you've got the wrong target with these guys. I worked at a church in Leaskdale (near Uxbridge) that owned a hundred acres besides their building -- and a bunch of those farmers (who also had their own farms to take care of) planted, cared for, and harvested wheat on it, donating it all to Canada Food Grains (another Christian organization with huge farmers' participation).

Then the government matches that donation several times over for overseas aid. Those are some of the best people doing the best work I know - tens of thousands of tonnes of food a year.

I think it's a bit far to call these type of people "ominous". Perhaps "admirable" and "selfless" is a little closer to the truth.

They're not trying to create a political party, take over anyone's education, or convert the world back to farmland.. they're good people doing great things, and a quick jab at them just because you don't like the word "farmer" or "Christian" gets under my skin a little, buddy.

(By the way, I don't particularly like Victor Veri's comments so far - see the Stoney Creek news on what he thinks of LRT. But that has nothing - nothing - to do with this organization, and more with a rural perspective in general: http://www.stoneycreeknews.com/news/arti...

Comment edited by Meredith on 2010-09-06 21:58:05

Pasquale Filice, also known as Pat Filice, has a law degree from the University of Arkansas and is licenced to practice law in the Province of Ontario and the State of New York. He has been a practicing lawyer in the Hamilton area for several years.

"Loba Linda California,

September 8, 2010,

I'm writing to ask Raise the Hammer readers to support the Mayoralty bid of Larry DiIanni. He espouses the same principals of honesty and integrity that always guided me during my time in office.

Personally, I'm sick of those politicians who say one thing and then do another, who campaign on platforms of honesty and integrity and then engage in fraudulent behaviour. And that's why I'm supporting Larry DiIanni. He's just not like those other scoundrels. He does things differently. HE engaged in fraudulent behaviour and THEN campaigned on a platform of honesty and intregrity.

Good luck, Larry.

Richard M. Nixon"

I actually like having Bratina in council - it's rare to have an eloquent, urban, fiscally conservative voice in the room. Somebody who wants to keep the city's wallet shut but doesn't want to hand the keys to the city over to the suburban builders. Maybe staying in the mall wasn't a good idea, but I still think it was important to point out what a bad deal taxpayers are getting for city hall office space in a building that isn't exactly from the glory days of architecture, nor perfectly located.

But I wouldn't support him for mayor. He tries to juggle his beliefs in tightening purse strings and downtown redevelopment, and too often ends up dropping all the eggs and making a mess. I think his voice is important to council, but I wouldn't want to see him leading it.

So Tony Greco's running again in ward 1. Hey lookit, he lives in ANCASTER.

Yeah, but he owns student rental homes in Westdale so it's all good.

Trying to find Tony Greco's website, I came across this little blast from the past:

http://www.raisethehammer.org/blog/370/

Smoked salmon was served at McHattie's victory party.

Once the debates start, watch Butani shine and turn the screws on the inept and the corrupt! He has been sidelined by the MSM and chattering classes to date, but soon voters are going to get to know him.

^I hope so. So far I know Mahesh just though long, hard to follow blog posts about philosophers, not sure how well that will fly on TV.

...and, Matt Jelly is running in Ward 2.

"They're not trying to create a political party, take over anyone's education, or convert the world back to farmland.. they're good people doing great things, and a quick jab at them just because you don't like the word "farmer" or "Christian" gets under my skin a little, buddy."

Woah. Ominous-sounding means just that...it just sounds ominous. I stand by my comment that the organization's name gave me cause to look into their policies thanks to some less-than Christian organizations utilizing the name "Christian" in the past to vindicate some really nasty stuff. The CFFO just seems to be a group of farmers (a word I like) getting together and doing their thing in a Christian (a word I have no opinion of) way.

Comment edited by C. Erl on 2010-09-11 22:41:42

Just to be clear, the Pat Filice that is quoted as graduating from the University of Arkansas and is a licensed attorney in Ontario and New York is not the same Pat Filice who is running for Mayor.

Tone Marrone has created a new website since running for Mayor of Hamilton. His new website is www.vote4tone4mayor.ca