Negative experiences, high hopes: Black candidates say they'll learn from the election

Edmonton's new city council is more diverse than ever before, but some Black candidates who ran for office say it's important not to lose sight of those who still don't have a seat at the table.

More than 10 Black candidates ran for council seats and school board trustee posts in the race. Several had good showings in the results — Rhiannon Hoyle came second to Jennifer Rice by just 33 votes in Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi— but none were elected.

Last week's election was lauded as a win for diversity. For the first time, Edmonton's mayor will be a man of South Asian descent; eight of the 12 councillors headed to city hall are women and two of them are women of colour.

Ward papastew candidate Haruun Ali says he's not sure what exactly it will take for a Black person to get elected to council given that it has never happened.

"We still haven't elected a Black city councillor, so there's something fundamental wrong. I think it's something we have to look into as a community," he said. 

Ali, who came in fourth in his ward, said his experience running a campaign wasn't positive. In a recent interview, he said anti-Black slurs were directed at him multiple times. He was even threatened with violence at one doorstep when he told a voter he supported redirecting police funding to other support services.

"He responded he didn't like that too much, and he said he was going to bash my head in," Ali said.

Still, Ali said he's motivated to keep pushing for change. He is in the process of setting up a think-tank to focus on pushing council in a progressive direction on policing, housing, transit and climate change.

"It was a great experience, but it was a tough experience as well," said Shamair Turner, who placed third in the race for the Ward Karhiio council seat. 

She said there were challenges in learning how to run a campaign — and in learning how to do it as a member of a marginalized community. 

"It's not just some of the almost overt aggression and violence and language that we're dealing with here," Turner said.

"We're also dealing with lots of internal biases. We're dealing with discrimination. We're dealing with credibility, in terms of people thinking it's even possible and viable for someone who looks like me to be a candidate."

Turner said all groups need to look at what resources go to some candidates rather than others, and what risks and sacrifices might be needed to truly dismantle systemic barriers for people of colour running for public office. 

"I am obviously happy to see many women on council," Turner said. "But when it comes to being Black or Indigenous or a person of colour — that is your biggest hurdle, and those are the pieces we need to take a look at."