2000 Hamilton, Ontario, municipal election

The 2000 Hamilton municipal election was a municipal election held on November 13, 2000, to elect municipal officials for the City of Hamilton. On election day, Hamiltonians elected a mayor, 15 city councillors, and trustees for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board, Conseil scolaire Viamonde, and Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir. This was the first election of the "New" City of Hamilton after the dissolution of the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth and the amalgamation of Dundas, Stoney Creek, Flamborough, Ancaster, Glanbrook, and Waterdown with the existing city of Hamilton.

The amalgamation dissolved the independent councils of each suburban municipality and reduced the number of councillors elected in each ward from two to one.

Mayoral election

The major upset was in the mayoral race, which was won by former Ancaster Mayor Robert Wade over incumbent Hamilton Mayor Bob Morrow."Wade's win surprised this 'keen' political analyst", November 15, 2000 Wednesday Final Edition, FORUM POLITICS; Pg. A15, 674 words, Mike Davison

!rowspan="2" colspan="2" |Candidate !colspan="3" |Popular vote

| style="text-align:left;" colspan="6" |Note: All Hamilton Municipal Elections are officially non-partisan. Note: Candidate campaign colours are based on the prominent colour used in campaign items (signs, literature, etc.)and are used as a visual differentiation between candidates.

| style="text-align:left;" colspan="13" |Sources: Van Harten, Peter. "A feisty Munro has crash landing; Former Liberal cabinet member finishes fourth,"The Hamilton Spectator, November 14, 2000, Decision 2000, D01.

City Council Election

The 2000 election sent seven out of eight incumbents back to City Hall from the original city. The new suburban seats were all filled by individuals who were active in their respective town councils."New Hamilton council has potential to shine", November 15, 2000 Wednesday Final Edition, EDITORIAL/OPINION; Pg. A14, 640 words

Ward 1

Upon the announcement that the number of councillors elected per ward would be reduced to one, incumbent Councillor Mary Kiss announced her retirement. A fixture on council since 1982, Kiss was known for her hands-on approach to local government, facilitating improvements to local infrastructure and responding quickly to the needs of her constituents. Former Ward 1 councillor and Regional Chair Terry Cooke noted her retirement signalled "the end of an era."

By the end of September 2000, a number of candidates had registered. Among the candidates were Wally Zatylny, a wide receiver with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1988 to 1994, Ray Paquette, the owner of a local restaurant and bar, Chuck McPhail, a former councillor in Brantford, and incumbent councillor Marvin Caplan. These candidates were joined by Phyllis Tresidder, the president of a local homeowner's association, Al Martino, the owner of a local nursing home, and Andy Straisfeld, a natural gas salesman.

The Ward 1 campaign was one of the most intense in the city, with the top candidates battling for the single seat. Tresidder, who received the endorsement of Kiss and former Hamilton West MPP and Minister of Colleges and Universities Richard Allen, was one of the first candidates to promote a website outlining their platform and e-mail as a way of communicating with voters. Tresidder highlighted environmental concerns, improved transit, and community consultation on developments as her main concerns.

Caplan, the incumbent councillor, was endorsed by former Mayor Jack MacDonald who noted that, though he was a hard working local politician, he was "often his own worst enemy.". Caplan sought to run a "balanced" campaign, saying he wanted to make sure the city was "taking care of the poorest among us while being fair to the wealthy." During the campaign, Caplan was the target of a coordinated sign theft campaign. During the first weekend of November 2000, Caplan lost over 350 signs valued at over $2,000. Speaking to the Hamilton Spectator, Caplan wouldn't accuse any of his opponents, but speculated that "someone got a truck, hired a crew of students and stayed up all night uprooting signs." Late in the campaign, Caplan was again targeted for his vote in favour of an expansion to Hamilton's urban boundary in a letter sent to Ward 1 residents by a group calling itself the "Responsible Ratepayers Coalition"

Zatylny focused his campaign on keeping taxes low, addressing issues caused by off-campus student housing around McMaster University, and saving the Chedoke ski hill. Martino's campaign generated the most controversy in the race. Criticized for living outside Ward 1, Martino and his brother made news before the election for concerns raised by employees and residents about their retirement home, St. Olga's Lifecare Centre in the Strathcona neighbourhood. During the campaign, which Martino ran from a rented double-decker bus, the candidate sent his campaign manager to accost Caplan while wearing a chicken suit to criticize the incumbent councillor for not attending a local debate. His campaign manager then picketed Caplan's office and was accused of calling the incumbent councillor and leaving voicemails consisting of "clucking" sounds. Caplan was caught by local ONTv cameras berating the man in the chicken suit.

McPhail ran for a seat on Brantford City Council in 1972, 1974, and 1976 before winning election for the city's fifth ward in 1980. He was re-elected in 1982 and did not seek re-election in 1985. He attempted to return to council in 1994, but was not successful. At one time, he served as chair of the Brant County Social Services committee. McPhail was a vocal critic of the transition board for the new, amalgamated city of Hamilton.

On November 13, 2000, Caplan secured a third term on council, telling the Spectator on election night, "I think I'm a pretty good member of council but maybe not that good as a politician." Tressider, who placed a strong second, noted how much she enjoyed the campaign, saying, "I enjoyed every moment of the campaign...There are way more nice people out there than nasty ones."

!rowspan="2" colspan="2" |Candidate !colspan="3" |Popular vote

| style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" colspan="2" |Registered voters | style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" | | style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" | | style="text-align:right;background-color:#FFFFFF;" |

| style="text-align:left;" colspan="13" |Sources:

Ward 2

The Ward 2 council race pit colleagues Andrea Horwath and Ron Corsini against one another for the new single downtown seat. Despite political differences (Horwath's connections to the NDP and Corsini's relationship with the Liberal Party), both councillors earned a reputation for working well together on ward issues.

2000 Hamilton, Ontario, municipal election

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