From start to finish, Andrea Kaiser remained true to herself throughout her campaign for lord mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake, she says.
Speaking from her home in Queenston shortly after losing the race, Kaiser said that was something she was proud of.
“I wanted to give voters a different choice and that’s what I did,” she said. “I was true to myself, which is always important to me.”
Just hours earlier, Kaiser had gathered at home with her family to watch the election results roll in and share a meal.
“I’ve been in an unusual number of elections in the last six years,” she said. “In all of those elections, I had big parties, so to speak — and you have a much bigger campaign team.”
This mayoral race, which began in May, was grassroots from the beginning, Kaiser said.
“I felt that was kind of the right way to do it for us.”
Kaiser described her mood on election day as “jittery,” saying it was difficult to describe what goes through a person’s mind on election day.
The former regional councillor said she reminded herself that she had done the best she could and tried to keep busy.
For Kaiser, that even meant shoe shopping.
“I walked into the parking lot and this woman said to me, ‘What are you doing here? It’s election night!’” Kaiser said.
“It’s because I just have to get out of my head and get a breather.”
The campaign also brought challenges online and in the news, Kaiser said — challenges that were directed at her personally.
“I would say that this election has been the hardest election I’ve ever run in,” she said. “When I was running federally, a lot of the stuff was directed at the party.”
With the town divided, Kaiser said she hoped the community will share more kindness, regardless of who holds office for the next four years.
“I don’t want Niagara-on-the-Lake to be so divided,” she said. “I’ve grown up here. I served on council. I have never seen it like this.”
Kaiser shared a text she received during election night from a supporter who said they hope NOTL gets the chance to return to its grassroots, with leadership that puts the community first.
“To get that from somebody is very touching for me, and it reminds me why I’m doing this,” she said.
“I hope whoever’s elected as mayor, if it’s not me, that they have the same intention and the same thought about bringing the community back together and to be less divisive,” she said.
“That’s the Niagara-on-the-Lake that I remember, you remember, that I want for our future, I want for my kids, I want that back.”
After the loss, Kaiser said she FaceTimed her daughter and planned to continue watching the results in other races.
“I’m going to regroup with my team probably next week and we’re going to go out and celebrate all the work we did,” she said.
Based on the results of the mayoral and councillors’ race, there’s a common sentiment among the winners, she said.
“A lot of that messaging that I see of those who were elected across the board seemed to be very anti-development,” she said.
Kaiser thanked her campaign team, the community, volunteers and residents who took the time to speak with her.
“I have no regrets.”
