Hamilton Votes 2022: Meet our six municipal election columnists

Between now and Oct. 24, 2022, Hamilton residents have some important decisions to make: Will you vote in the municipal election? Who will receive your support for mayor, councillor and school board trustee? 

With a handful of councillors and the mayor not running for re-election, we know there will be change in the city.

The role of CBC Hamilton is to provide essential information around the voting process, candidate platforms and big questions facing city leaders. It is also to amplify the voices and concerns of local residents and what they hope to see in the city's next chapter. 

With that in mind, we asked six Hamilton residents, representing a range of geographical locations, ages and interests, to reflect on the issues they think are missing from election campaign conversations so far or need underscoring.

Their perspectives are some of those we saw as missing from the broader Hamilton media landscape and by sharing their viewpoints here, we hope to highlight insights that may not always be given at a platform during election time and inspire deeper conversations on the issues they care about.

Read their columns on CBC Hamilton — the first is here — and join CBC Hamilton and these columnists for a community discussion on the election at the Hamilton Public Library, Oct. 15, 2022, at 2 p.m. (You can also find all our election coverage here.) 

Gavin Stephens (he/him) is a stand-up comedian who skillfully balances playful irony and morbid silliness. He is known for his (really) quick wit and stream of consciousness comedic style. Gavin has been featured in Montreal and Toronto's Just For Laughs Festivals, as well as the Cape Town Comedy fest, and Austin's SXSW, alongside comedy legends Margaret Cho, Janeane Garofalo, Andy Kindler, Reggie Watts, Hannibal Buress and Marc Maron. He has been named one of the "10 Funniest Canadians" by StarTV and chosen as "Best Local Stand-up Comic" in NOW Magazine's Readers Choice poll. He's appeared on CTV and the Comedy Network in The Buzz, Comedy Inc., and on CBC's Debaters and The Baroness Von Sketch Show. When he's not performing or hosting the Uncolonized podcast, he can be found practicing his knitting or cheering on the Raptors. His perfect day includes watching cartoons, reading comic books and watching indie wrestling.

Currently lives in: Ward 3

How long have you lived in Hamilton? I've lived in Hamilton for 10 years, originally from Toronto.

Favourite spot in the city? Pier 8 during the day. It's a nice little relaxing place during a bike ride. Also Playhouse Theatre, having an indie movie theatre in the city is so important, also being able to watch John Carpenter movies on the big screen.

Three words to describe how you feel about the future of this place: Anxious. Fascinated. Hopeful. 

What's keeping you inspired right now? I guess what's keeping me inspired is the current independent nature of the Canadian comedy industry.

Anabelle Ragsag (she/her/siya, a gender-neutral pronoun in Tagalog) is co-founder of Filipinas of HamOnt, a volunteer-run initiative that engages in equity and anti-racist advocacy, events, and education programming by Filipinas for Filipinas in Hamilton and beyond. She serves as the 2022-2023 Stephen Lewis Social Policy PhD Fellow at McMaster University's School of Social Work, and studied previously at the University of the Philippines and Carleton University. Before joining McMaster in 2021, she held policy development and evaluation positions locally and abroad and actively engages with different community spaces in Hamilton.

Currently lives in: Ward 14