Before the Ballot- with Ward 2 Councillor Candidate and Incumbent Cameron Kroetsch

Welcome to this instalment of Before the Ballot- with Ward 2 Councillor Candidate and Incumbent Cameron Kroetsch.

Looking back on your current term, what accomplishments are you most proud of in your ward? Please elaborate.

Ward 2 is the heart of our city and over 37,000 people call downtown home. I’m one of them. As Councillor, I’m proud of the fact I worked hard to deliver on the goals I promised in my detailed 2022 platform. It was filled with actions and measures. I worked with residents, my Council colleagues, and City staff to do what I said I would do. From making decisions around the horseshoe to spending meaningful one on one time with residents, I’ve been able to deliver on the priorities that I ran on in the last election.

Engagement has been an important focus of my time in office, which is why I prioritized holding more than 100 meetings, town halls, and events this term, in every neighbourhood in Ward 2, about issues big and small. In addition, I’ve attended regular meetings with the boards of our three BIAs, with representatives from all six of our neighbourhood associations, and with groups of tenants in every corner of our downtown to work on municipal issues and come up with creative solutions.

It’s not just the number of meetings, but the quality and quantity of the feedback I receive at them, both positive and negative. At each meeting and event, I listen and I share, sometimes to a handful of residents, and other times hundreds. I’m proud of the discussions I’ve been privileged to have at these meetings, even when opinions run counter to facts and evidence, and we have to work together, a little harder, to find understanding and come to resolutions.

Persisting, even when conversations are difficult, is important to me. Probably the best measure of that is when someone says to me, “I didn’t love your answer, but I respect that you’re open to having hard discussions and willing to give us information we didn’t have before”.

That’s been a theme of this term - doing what hasn’t been done before, despite it being difficult. I was told it was impossible to fast track or introduce new greenspace in Ward 2, but we’re on the way to expanding Beasley Park ahead of schedule, creating a new greenspace along Strachan Street in the North End, and making early plans to reimagine the property at Scout House in the south part of Ward 2.

Accomplishments I’m particularly proud of are things like implementing what many say is the most rigorous and impactful community grants program in the city, which has supported more than 100 community not for profit organizations from food banks to community gardens and youth programs to neighbourhood events.

In fact, a number of my Council colleagues have adopted our program to administer their own community grants. For more information on the program, and all of its recipients, visit the Ward 2 website at https://ward2hamilton.ca/resources/grants/.

Things like investing millions in safer and better sidewalks and crosswalks - to ensure those who’re pushing a stroller or a walker, and everyone in between, can get around more safely. This includes protecting more bike lanes and redesigning intersections to make them easier and safer to navigate.

Things like actively working to find solutions to our affordable housing crisis by supporting new not for profit cooperative housing in Ward 2 and leading the way on repairing 500 units of City housing, citywide, that were sitting vacant for years due to disrepair. Council’s adoption of this bold CityHousing Hamilton repair program was the most significant single affordable housing initiative in this term of Council.

It not only put these units back in circulation but it gave people a place to live. The repair program ensured that hundreds of additional individuals, couples, and families had a place to call home. That’s a huge impact on people’s lives. It was also the financially responsible and timely thing to do. To build 500 units of housing in today’s market, we’d have to spend around $150 million and dedicate at least 3 years to the planning and development process. To repair the same number of units cost $5.7 million and the work was quickly wrapped up, on schedule, in under 2 years.

Things like, after years of questionable decisions that led to requests for annual financial bailouts, leading the Board of the Hamilton Waterfront Trust to return the Trust to profitability with an eye to winding it down and transferring its assets and programming to City departments already doing this work across the city. These are just some of the things I’m proud of during my first term. I do have more and I’ll be highlighting them throughout the campaign.

Looking back on your current term, what things do you wish had gone differently? Please elaborate.

There are a number of things I think could have been done much better, but here are three that I think are important to highlight.

In our first full budget year, we should have directed staff to completely restructure the process, budget documents, and mandate. These are things I asked to be done, but they were not adopted. I think the way things are being done now is not conducive to collaboration with colleagues or residents. We have to do better.

The process used for the Barton-Tiffany Temporary Outdoor Shelter should have been conducted very differently. It should not have been forced through in time for winter if there was no way for the work to actually get done in that timeframe. Not only should Council have been made aware of this impossible timing, but we should also have been notified, immediately, when the costs started to go over budget. Those responsible were held accountable, but it was very damaging to the City’s reputation. I don’t believe it was handled properly by those involved, at all levels.

Lastly, Council’s vote in favour of luxury condominiums at Pier 8 was a huge mistake. As one of the only members of Council to vote against the decision, I was disappointed my colleagues couldn’t see the writing on the wall. Now, we have a stalled project where we could have already started building apartments, affordable and market rent, when housing is desperately needed. Instead, Council voted in favour of the luxury proposal. Recently, it was announced the project wouldn’t be moving forward on the schedule initially approved and would be delayed for at least another three years. That’s more than just disappointing. 

Residents across Hamilton continue to express concerns about affordability, infrastructure, and public safety. What specific priorities would define your next term if re-elected?

These really are among the biggest issues facing our residents and I hear about them every day.

Ward 2 is unique and it’s important that’s reflected in my campaign priorities - the issues here are not always the same as those across Hamilton. Nearly 80% of all Ward 2 residents rent their homes, according to 2021 census data, compared to 30% citywide.

It’s also the densest part of the city, has the most transit routes, experiences some of the most severe environmental impacts, and has a high concentration of social services. When it comes to safety on our streets, I don’t have authority over criminal matters, which are the responsibility of Chief Bergen and the Hamilton Police Service, but I do have some direct authority over street infrastructure which is why I’ve focused on getting those projects funded during this term of Council.

All of these priorities will shape my 2026 campaign platform and I look forward to sharing it when it’s completed. To review the priorities I ran on during the last election, visit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pKDv6szMmVxMwHTIoxmn2OX6lsA8sVxwWYZm__V88uw/edit?usp=sharing.

I’ll be releasing my platform this summer, just as I did in 2022, which will include information, goals, and actions on each of those areas, but will also reflect what Ward 2 residents are telling me is impacting them most.

What distinguishes you from potential challengers seeking to represent your ward in this election? If your bid is presently unchallenged, summarize what skills you offer that define you.

The best way to answer this question is to share the comments and feedback I’ve heard directly from residents at meetings and presentations, as well as when they stop me on the street to chat. Perhaps the three most common things I hear are -

Transparency - Residents most often tell me they appreciate how transparent and honest I am. They tell me they appreciate my frequent appearances through mainstream media, the information provided through my regular newsletter, and my willingness to speak up about big issues on the minds of all Hamiltonians. They’ve also appreciated my directness at Council meetings and my videos explaining what’s happening or keeping residents up to date about an important issue. Residents say it’s important to be able to see the downtown Councillor, know what they think, and feel like they can trust what they’re saying. I’ll keep doing that if I’m elected again and plan to increase my visibility and reporting to the public. 

 
Work ethic - I also often hear from residents about how pleased they are with my participation in Council and committee work and how satisfied they are with the work of the Ward 2 Team. I sit on nearly 50 committees, representing Ward 2 on issues as big as public works and planning and as detailed as governance and community benefits. The committees and boards I sit on, and chair, are a huge part of my job - at the end of the day we’re here to legislate and govern and we can’t do that if we’re not sitting at decision making tables. I’m committed to the job and I care about doing it well. While I’m doing this work, the Ward 2 Team is there to back me up and offer residents support. They’ve been responsive, factual, helpful, and professional, based on what residents tell me every day. Over this term, the Ward 2 Team has managed to consistently respond to and track incoming requests, with a robust ticketing system, from many thousands of Ward 2 residents who reach out by phone and email. We’ve fine tuned our internal policies and office hours so we’re able to get back to most inquiries in under 24 hours. Residents continue to praise the Ward 2 Team and I couldn’t be happier to have them by my side, helping me to represent our community.

 
Engagement - I’m most often thanked for my direct engagement with residents. So far this term, our office has held a record 110 meetings and events in Ward 2. They’ve ranged from town halls to community BBQs and from public skates to small business forums. When I was knocking on doors in 2022, one of the biggest requests of me, if I was elected, was to hold more public meetings and be more present in the community. Voters said they wanted an opportunity to meet their Councillor and to share their hopes, dreams, and concerns with them face to face. I committed to doing that and I’m proud of the results. I don’t think there’s ever been a Councillor who has committed this much time and energy to engagement with residents in our city’s history. It was an incredible learning experience for me and I look forward to maintaining a high standard of engagement in the next term of Council.

If re-elected, what would success look like for your ward by the end of your next term?

Our success is defined by how I helped make it easier and more accessible for Ward 2 residents to enjoy all that our community has to offer - the library, the farmers’ market, the restaurants and other businesses, more events like Art Crawl, street festivals, enhanced parks, and recreation facilities.

I’ll work with my council colleagues to see more progress on issues that we face as a municipality that fall under the mandates of the provincial and federal governments like homelessness, affordable housing, enhanced social services, and policies that affect all residents, one way or another, even if they’re not under municipal control.

As municipal leaders, we can do many things, but some things are not only beyond our financial capabilities, they’re also beyond our stated responsibilities. I see my role as building a better Ward 2, but also as a builder of a better city for all residents. That means being up to date on issues and reading the research that is required to make the best decisions.

How can voters contact you or learn more about you, in the context of this election?

The best way for voters to reach me is to email me directly at Cameron@CameronForWard2.ca and visit my website at CameronForWard2.ca.

You can find me on the following social media networks as well -

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/cameronkroetsch.bsky.social
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cameronkroetsch/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cameronkroetsch
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@cameronforward2

Thank-you Cameron for engaging with Hamiltonians on The Hamiltonian!