Cornies: Answer the doorbell; it’s democracy calling. And vote

In one of his bits, Sebastian Maniscalco, an American stand-up comedian, satirizes our 21st-century reactions to the simple chime of a doorbell. His parents’ generation, he says, treated the arrival of a visitor at the front door as an occasion. “We’ve got company!” they’d shriek. Then, “How are you? Can you come in for a […]

Mayoral debate: How to build a London that’s safer for women, girls

A mayoral candidate shared her own experience with abuse at the final debate before London’s municipal election, a Wednesday night event squarely focused on tackling violence against women.  Sandie Thomas, London pastor and founder of a Black community centre, revealed she’d be threatened at knifepoint while pregnant. She highlighted the experience while giving an answer about […]

Use it or lose it: Candidates must give leftover donations to city hall

It’s the ultimate use-it-or-lose-it scenario. Ontario’s municipal election rules require candidates who don’t spend all the money they raised during the campaign to turn over the extra to city hall after the race. After the 2018 election, London city hall came away with $518.10. “That’s not very much money,” said political scientist Peter Woolstencroft, a […]

Southwestern Ontario mayoral candidate dies

A candidate running for mayor in a municipality near Kincardine has died. “It is with sadness that we learn that Donald E. Tedford, a candidate for the position of mayor, has passed away,” the Town of South Bruce Peninsula posted on its website on Monday. “We send our condolences to Mr. Tedford’s family.” In the […]

Can a freedom convoy-backing local mayor win re-election?

Mayoral candidates are making their final pitches to voters in a Southwestern Ontario township where COVID-19 restriction tensions fuelled a highway blockade earlier this year, but don’t expect pandemic politics to be a ballot-box issue for most citizens, one political watcher says. Incumbent Jackie Rombouts drew fire earlier this year for her anti-lockdown stances and […]