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SWAP Hamilton

@swaphamilton

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Education. Outreach. Advocacy. Harm Reduction.
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Twenty-five endorsements and recommendations. One shared belief: Hamilton can do better. I'm incredibly grateful to have the support of people and organizations from across our city and beyond-labour unions and labour leaders, housing and social-service organizations, elected and former political leaders, artists, activists, comedians, musicians, writers, community organizers, and people who have spent years fighting for a fairer world. That support includes the Hamilton & District Labour Council (@HamiltonLabour)*, @CUPE3906, @OPSEUSEFPO*, @HamiltonACORN*, @SOPENHamilton, the Municipal Socialist Alliance, Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War (@Hamilton_CSW)*, and leaders such as @Fred.Hahn.CUPE.O, @Sid.Ryan and Rev. Dr. @Cheri.DiNovo, alongside artists, advocates and community voices including B.A. Johnston (@OldBAJohnston), Matt Jelly (MDJelly), Fae Johnstone (@Faedingaway), @NatalieBencivenga, @TheReal_Lyla Miklos, @Stop_The_Datacentre, and many more. These endorsements matter to me because this campaign has never been about one person. It is about building a Hamilton where working people can afford to live, where tenants are protected, where marginalized communities are heard, where public services are defended, and where City Hall is accountable to the people it serves. Every endorsement represents trust, and a belief that our city is ready for leadership that is bold, independent, compassionate and unafraid to challenge the status quo. To every organization and every person who has put their name behind this campaign: thank you. I am honoured to carry your support with me. We are building something together. Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of Hamilton. 🏳️‍⚧️✊ #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton
I recently had the pleasure of meeting with suicide prevention advocate @JoshuaMJBell to discuss mental health, suicide prevention, and how we can build a more compassionate Hamilton. Thank you, Joshua, for taking the time to meet with me and for your tireless advocacy for people who are too often left waiting for the support they need. Your recommendations for strengthening Hamilton's mental health resources are an important contribution to this municipal election. This conversation is personal to me. My own lived experience has taught me how important it is to be treated with dignity, to be heard without judgment, and to have access to meaningful support when life becomes difficult. Nobody should have to navigate their darkest moments alone, and nobody should have to reach a breaking point before help becomes available. As Mayor, I would advocate for stronger municipal leadership in suicide prevention, including renewing Hamilton's suicide prevention strategy, strengthening partnerships with community organizations, improving public awareness of crisis resources, and expanding access to youth mental health supports. We also need accessible, affordable community spaces that help people find connection and belonging, alongside measurable goals to track progress. Healthcare funding and clinical services require provincial and federal leadership, but our municipality has an important role in prevention, community education, advocacy, and bringing partners together. We must also address the underlying conditions that affect mental health, including poverty, housing insecurity, isolation, and discrimination. My mayoral campaign is about building a Hamilton where people are treated with dignity and nobody is left behind. That means listening to people with lived experience and turning their knowledge into meaningful action. Thank you again, Joshua, for your time, your advocacy, and your commitment to making mental health and suicide prevention a priority. Hope can't wait. Neither can the people who need support. Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of the @CityofHamilton #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton
Misogyny has no place in our democracy. Yet throughout this municipal election campaign, I and other candidates have experienced firsthand the hatred and harassment that women and marginalized candidates face when they dare to seek public office. The CBC's reporting on misogyny during election campaigns shines a light on a serious problem: who gets to participate in democracy, who is made to feel unwelcome, and who is expected to endure abuse simply to have their voice heard? Throughout this campaign, I have faced hateful slurs targeting my identity as a trans woman and my history as a sex worker, harassment, and threats to my safety. Even people volunteering their time to support my campaign have been targeted. This goes far beyond legitimate political disagreement. When candidates are intimidated because of who they are, it is not just the individual who suffers. Our entire community loses the perspectives and leadership of people who are already underrepresented in positions of power. I am running for Mayor of Hamilton because working-class people, tenants, disabled residents, sex workers, and marginalized communities deserve a voice at City Hall. Those of us who understand exclusion and inequality should not have to surrender our right to participate in public life to make others comfortable. I refuse to let hatred dictate who gets to lead. My campaign is about accountability, dignity, accessibility, and building a city that works for everyone. That means confronting misogyny, racism, transphobia, and harassment rather than accepting them as the price of participating in politics. We should be able to disagree about policy without attacking one another's humanity. We should be able to run for office, volunteer, organize, and participate in our democracy without fear of intimidation. Hamilton deserves better. Democracy belongs to all of us, not just those who can withstand the most abuse. I will continue to stand up for a Hamilton where everyone has a voice, everyone deserves dignity, and nobody is forced out of public life by hatred. Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of the @CityofHamilton #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton
A huge thank you to Nawal, @_Joe_Kealey_, and the entire @MacYoungLibs team for inviting me to participate in their candidates' event. One of the most rewarding parts of running for Mayor of Hamilton has been speaking with young people who are paying attention, asking thoughtful questions, and thinking critically about the kind of city they want to inherit. Municipal politics affects so much of our everyday lives: housing, transit, public spaces, climate policy, infrastructure, affordability, safety, and whether people actually feel heard by their government. Yet young people are too often treated as an audience for politics rather than participants in shaping it. That needs to change. My campaign has been about opening the doors of municipal politics wider: working-class people, tenants, young people, marginalized communities, and to anyone who has looked at City Hall and wondered whether their voice really matters there. I am here to tell you: Your voice matters! I was grateful for the opportunity to discuss my vision for Hamilton, answer questions directly, and hear what matters to students at McMaster. Regardless of political affiliation, our democracy is stronger when young people are engaged, informed, willing to challenge candidates, and prepared to hold their elected representatives accountable. Thank you again to Nawal, Joe, and all of the organizers who created the space for that conversation, and to everyone who showed up and participated. The future of Hamilton is not something young people should have to wait to have a say in. You are part of shaping it right now. Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of the @CityofHamilton on Monday #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton
Today, @DopeChiefStudios will be hosting an Art Auction & Fundraiser at @MillsHardware from 3-7pm. (Auction starts at 5pm). There will be @CowabungaPizzeria.ca for sale and all proceeds from the event will go to longevity for the studio's future. Thank you Hamilton! #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton
Thank you to @Mac_Christie and The @HamiltonSpectator for taking a closer look at my campaign for Mayor of Hamilton. The headline says it plainly: I'm in it to win it. But this campaign has never been only about one person winning an election. It is about the people who have been told that politics is not for them: the working-class people, tenants, marginalized communities, and residents who do not see themselves reflected in the usual halls of power. The article notes that our campaign has built a team, established a visible presence across the city, shown up at public events, fought for inclusion in mayoral debates, and connected with people who feel left out by the campaigns treated as the traditional front-runners. All of this matters to me. Safe and affordable housing has been central to my campaign because I know what it means to have to advocate for your own housing and your neighbours. My experiences have not made me less qualified to lead, rather they have taught me exactly why leadership must include advocacy. As I told the Spec, a mayor is an advocate for the electorate, and learning to advocate effectively for myself has only strengthened my ability to advocate for others. I entered this race hoping to inspire working-class people to stand up and speak out. I still believe that. And, I also believe we can win. Every sign, every volunteer, every conversation, every person who refuses to accept that the outcome has already been decided is building something bigger. Hamilton deserves a democracy where nobody is treated as an afterthought. See you at the ballot box. ❤️ Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of the @CityofHamilton #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton
I am deeply grateful to receive the endorsement of @Stop_The_Datacentre Hamilton. This movement has done something essential: it has forced a conversation about who gets to shape Hamilton's future, and whether enormous decisions about our land, water, electricity, environment, and public infrastructure will be made for residents or around them. I signed the Stop the Datacentre candidate pledge because voluntary guidelines are not enough. needs strong, enforceable guardrails before approving AI data centres that could consume immense amounts of electricity and water, create noise and air pollution, or leave residents carrying the consequences of promises that were never made binding. My campaign for Mayor has consistently been about democratic accountability. Economic development cannot mean giving powerful corporations a blank cheque while communities are expected to accept the risks. New technology does not exempt anyone from environmental responsibility, transparency, meaningful public consultation or the obligation to demonstrate an actual public benefit. Hamilton can welcome innovation without surrendering our ability to govern it. I am running for Mayor because I believe City Hall should have the courage to ask difficult questions before decisions become irreversible, and not after. Thank you to Stop the Datacentre Hamilton and to the residents who organized, researched, showed up at City Hall and refused to let this issue disappear. Grassroots organizing makes our democracy stronger. I am proud to stand with you. Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of the @CityofHamilton #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton
I’m honoured to share that CUPE Local 3906 has officially endorsed my campaign for Mayor of the City of Hamilton. ❤️ This endorsement means a great deal to me because my campaign is rooted in a simple principle: the people who do the work that keeps our communities functioning deserve to be heard, respected, and represented. Workers understand what happens when wages fail to keep pace with the cost of living, when housing becomes unaffordable, when public services are stretched thin, and when decisions are made without meaningful input from the people most affected by them. My very presence in the race challenges some people's ideas of who is "allowed" to lead. That is also why I think it is incredibly important. I believe that my lived experience belongs at City Hall. My campaign for Mayor is about building a Hamilton where public institutions are accountable to the people they serve, where workers are treated with dignity, where strong public services are understood as an investment in our collective well-being, and where residents have a genuine voice in the decisions shaping their lives. I believe leadership means listening, not only during an election, but throughout an entire term. It means respecting collective action, recognizing the value of organized labour, and understanding that a stronger Hamilton depends on the people who teach, care, build, organize, create, serve, and keep this city moving every day. I’m deeply grateful to the members of CUPE Local 3906 for placing their confidence in me. This campaign is growing because people across Hamilton believe something different is possible: a City Hall grounded in accountability, evidence, integrity, lived experience, and respect for every resident. Thank you, @CUPE3906, for standing with me. Now we keep building, together. 💗 Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of the @CityofHamilton #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #HamiltonOntario #CityofHamilton by @swaphamilton
At the @C14Community mayoral candidate's debate, I spoke about something at the heart of my campaign for Mayor of Hamilton: Who gets to see themselves as a leader? For generations, political power has overwhelmingly been concentrated in the hands of people who fit a very narrow mould. I said plainly that there have been enough old, White, Christian, cisgender men leading our institutions. I said this not because those identities disqualify anyone from public service, but because democracy is stronger when leadership reflects the full diversity of the people it serves. Representation matters! When someone who has never seen a person like themselves at the council table watches a transgender woman stand up, speak, challenge the status quo, and run for mayor, it expands their understanding of what is possible. That is one part of why I am running. I want a Hamilton where people who have historically been told (directly or indirectly) that politics is not for them know that their voices matter, their experiences matter, and they belong in the rooms where decisions are made. Civic engagement cannot thrive if people believe City Hall is reserved for a particular class, race, ethnicity, background, gender, religion, or social status. My campaign is about opening those doors wider. It is about leadership informed by lived experience, community advocacy, real courage, and a willingness to speak truth to power even when the conversation becomes uncomfortable or when there is personal risk for speaking the truth. Hamilton deserves a City Hall where more people can look at their elected representatives and think: "I could be there, too." 🏳️‍⚧️ Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of the @CityofHamilton #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton
Thank you to @CelesteTrianon for her remarkable endorsement of my candidacy for Mayor of the City of Hamilton, particularly as a leading trans legal scholar and advocate via Juritrans (@TransLaw). Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of the @CityofHamilton for the Sake of Democracy. #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton
Today I received a $200 penalty from the City of Hamilton over an election sign at the building where I am a lawful tenant. I am challenging it. Ontario's Municipal Elections Act is clear: a landlord or someone acting on a landlord's behalf cannot prohibit a tenant from displaying election signs on the premises to which their lease relates, subject to reasonable rules around size, type and common areas. Yet throughout this campaign, my signs at 430 Cumberland have been interfered with, and I say 10 of my campaign signs have now been removed and disposed of. At what point does enforcement stop looking neutral and start looking like an attempt to silence a candidate? This does not exist in isolation. Throughout this election I have also faced exclusion from major debates and interviews while other candidates were given platforms I was denied. The September Chamber of Commerce debate, for example, featured only three of Hamilton's 13 mayoral candidates. Now, days before Election Day, I am being fined over political signage connected to the place where I live. I believe Hamiltonians deserve answers about how these decisions are being made, whether election rules are being applied consistently, and why a grassroots candidate should have to spend campaign time fighting institutions simply to participate on equal footing. This campaign has always been about challenging systems that exclude poor, working-class and marginalized people from power. I will contest this penalty through the appropriate process, and I will continue speaking. Democracy means more than allowing someone's name onto a ballot. It means giving candidates and voters a fair opportunity to participate. Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of Hamilton for the Sake of Democracy. #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton
Last Saturday, I was honoured to attend the @USWDistrict6 Local 1005 membership meeting at a critical moment for Hamilton steelworkers. The layoffs at Stelco are not just numbers on a balance sheet. They mean workers wondering how they will pay their bills, families facing uncertainty, and Hamilton once again being asked to absorb the consequences of decisions made far away from the people whose labour built this industry. My mayoral campaign has consistently centred working-class Hamiltonians: the people who build this city, care for it, clean it, manufacture in it and keep it moving. I believe municipal leadership must stand beside workers when jobs, pensions, wages and our local industrial capacity are threatened. Hamilton cannot have a serious conversation about affordability or economic security without talking about and fighting to protect good union jobs and the people who depend on them. Thank you to USW Local 1005 President Ron Wells for welcoming me and for continuing to represent members during an incredibly difficult period. And a special thank you to Rolf Gerstenberger, former four-term President of Local 1005, for giving me the opportunity to speak directly to the membership about my candidacy and what I believe it represents: a working-class voice at City Hall, and a demand for meaningful change from politics that too often leaves ordinary people behind. Local 1005's history reminds us what organized workers can accomplish when they stand together. That history matters, and so does its future. Solidarity with every Stelco worker and family facing uncertainty right now. Please Vote Scarlett for Mayor of the @CityofHamilton #HamOnt #CDNPoli #ONPoli #CityofHamilton #HamiltonOntario by @swaphamilton

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