The Difference Between Campaigning...and Leading

Recently, our Publisher wrote about political photo opportunities and questioned whether they are really the best way to campaign. A fair question followed: If not photo ops, then what should candidates be doing instead?

There is certainly nothing wrong with attending community events. Candidates should be visible, meet residents, and become familiar with the people and organizations that make Hamilton what it is.But visibility should never be confused with engagement.

If a candidate truly wants to earn votes—and, more importantly, demonstrate they are prepared to serve—their time is probably better spent doing things that reveal substance rather than simply create optics.

Here are just a few examples.

Debate. Debate often. Perhaps no campaign activity is more valuable than participating in debates.

Candidates should not wait to be invited. They should actively seek opportunities to debate. Reach out to community organizations, business groups, residents' associations, media outlets, podcasts, and anyone willing to host a respectful public discussion. Better yet, invite your opponents to debate you.

Debates allow voters to compare candidates side by side. They reveal how well candidates understand the issues, how they think under pressure, how respectfully they disagree, and whether they possess the temperament expected of someone seeking public office.

Just as importantly, candidates should accept debate invitations regardless of who extends them or how politically advantageous they believe the event may be. It should not matter whether the invitation comes from a major media outlet, a neighbourhood association, an online publication, a community group, a local podcast, or even another candidate. Nor should a candidate decide to participate based on a "threat assessment" of the other candidates on stage.

The debate is not about promoting the organizer or elevating an opponent. It is about respecting voters enough to explain your vision, defend your ideas, and answer difficult questions.

Candidates who avoid debates miss one of the few opportunities voters have to compare platforms, leadership styles, knowledge, and temperament. Elections should be contests of ideas, not contests of who can produce the most polished social media posts.

Respond: Candidates should also be willing to answer fair questions from the media and other organizations.

One of the most valuable aspects of any election is the opportunity for voters to understand where candidates stand on issues that matter. Whether those questions come during a debate, an interview, or a written questionnaire, candidates should embrace the opportunity—not avoid it.

That is precisely why The Hamiltonian launched its Before the Ballot series. The objective has never been to endorse candidates or create "gotcha" moments. It has simply been to provide voters with thoughtful, issue-based questions and publish candidates' responses in their own words.

Recently, The Hamiltonian asked all mayoral candidates who were registered at the time a straightforward question about whether Hamilton should remain a designated Sanctuary City. It was a fair question on an issue that has generated significant public discussion. It was not designed to trap anyone or advance a particular point of view. It was designed to help voters understand where those seeking the city's highest office stood.

Scarlett Gillespie, Sasha Austin and Ejaz Butt responded. Rob Cooper and Keanin Loomis did not. That is unfortunate.

Leadership is demonstrated by engaging with difficult issues, explaining your reasoning, and trusting voters to evaluate your position. Voters are entitled to agree or disagree. What they should not have to do is guess.

Strong candidates do not fear respectful scrutiny. They answer fair questions even when the issues are controversial because they understand that accountability begins before Election Day—not after it.

Knock on doors. Instead of spending another afternoon posing for pictures, spend it knocking on doors. Not for thirty minutes with a photographer following behind, but for six or seven hours. Walk every street. Listen far more than you speak. Ask residents what keeps them awake at night. Ask them what they love about their neighbourhood. Ask them what they would change if they had the chance. No photograph can replace that education.

Read. Read the City's budget. Read staff reports. Read previous council agendas. Understand how decisions are actually made, where tax dollars go, and why so many good ideas never make it across the finish line. Municipal government is complicated, and voters deserve representatives who have done their homework before Election Day—not after.

Develop real policy. Too many campaigns rely on slogans. Residents deserve more than broad promises about affordability, safety, accountability, or economic growth. They deserve to know what a candidate would actually do, how they would do it, what it would cost, and what trade-offs they are prepared to make.

Finally, a word about incumbents.

Holding office provides advantages that challengers simply do not have. Every media interview, press release, committee meeting, and social media post carries the credibility and visibility of the office itself. That platform should be used to explain decisions, report progress, and provide meaningful accountability—not merely to issue a steady stream of common-sense observations that few would disagree with.

Residents do not need elected officials to tell them that roads should be safe, neighbourhoods should be clean, parks should be maintained, or families deserve affordable housing. Those are not courageous positions; they are universally accepted expectations.

As Election Day approaches, voters should ask themselves a simple question: Is this communication helping me better understand my elected representative's work, or is it simply keeping their name in front of me?

Campaigns should be about substance. Ironically, candidates who focus on substance often end up with the best photographs anyway. They are captured while genuinely working, genuinely listening, genuinely debating, and genuinely serving—not because someone arranged the perfect backdrop.

The best campaign image is not one carefully staged for Facebook. It is the reputation a candidate has earned long before the campaign began—and one they continue earning long after the signs come down.