At the final meetup of Niagara-on-the-Lake's mayoral candidates before the polls open on election day, Oct. 26, Erwin Wiens, Andrea Kaiser and Vaughn Goettler were divided on a variety of issues, including how a municipality is supposed to be run.
Early voting gave some Niagara-on-the-Lake residents peace of mind, while others saw it as an opportunity to make their voices heard ahead of election day.
The Lake Report asked more nominees for trustees what their top three priorities are, why they decided to run and what they would like to change or fix at the school board level.
The gloves came off on stage Thursday night when one Niagara-on-the-Lake council candidate accused two fellow candidates, both incumbents, of betraying residents over the Parliament Oak development.
At barely 14, NOTL's Kaige Zhu and Eli Perng already competed in tournaments far more intense and demanding than most recreational golfers will ever experience. But they're just getting started.
“As a woman and a mom of three, I believe I have a natural ability to nurture, support and encourage others,” said Montanaro, the supervisor of enforcement for the town.
More than 20 years after taking a job decorating cakes at a Sobeys store, Lindsey Bridgeman now owns Niagara-on-the-Lake’s newest grocery store and says getting offered to run the store was "one of the greatest honours I've had."
Romance, acclaimed for Christmas and family life paintings, and a longtime former resident of the historical McArthur Estate, said she views herself as a woman artist, rather than an artist who happens to be a woman.
Whether it's working on her farm, waitressing, setting up cable network connections, or making her award-winning jams and jellies, McQuhae says she's always done things on her own terms.
"Eventually, everything made with oil — which is pretty much everything, like the plastic on the berries, plus the diesel and jetfuel that got them to the store — will become dearer," writes Garth Turner.
"If the plan is followed and enforced, there should be no fear of having an inappropriately designed monster McMansion squeezed into the lot next door," writes Brian Marshall.
"I have lived here for some 40 years, and have driven or run past Mennonite churches hundreds of times, with little thought about their history," writes Ross Robinson.
"My guess is that had AI been trained on similar challenging math problems, it wouldn’t have taken long before AI mastered other questions posed by top notch mathematicians," writes Dr. William Brown.
"Our local leaders should think boldly and speak clearly. It’s time to dream — otherwise, someone else will be dreaming for us," writes David Israelson.
"Amalgamation was intended to deliver 'better, more efficient government at less cost to the taxpayer.' But, 25 years later, Hamilton residents are still waiting," writes Ken Bosveld.
"I had a plan: propose to my now-fiancée Alanna (she said yes) in some sort of grand and romantic fashion. Easy, right? Not so much," writes Richard Harley.
"Turning us into a 'burb of the Falls or the pointy part of a big region would likely be the beginning of the end of NOTL. For all the bad decisions that have impacted us, this place is unique," writes Garth Turner.
"The regional government seems to be a bottomless hole into which taxpayers continually pour money and receive few practical benefits from having done so," writes Brian Marshall.
"The path to modern humans was never scripted, because of the important role natural selection and chance play in the evolution of most species, including our own," writes Dr. William Brown.
"As a parent of two former Secord students, who between them performed in four great Secord musicals, last Saturday evening was certainly a trip down memory lane," writes Ross Robinson.
"Amalgamation with local adjacent municipalities with failing infrastructure will result in higher cost of living, more taxes and less service," writes Richard Connelly.
The representatives of small governments like NOTL "aren’t 'politicians' of the ilk perceived by Premier Ford, with offices in glass palaces and numerous staff," writes Keith McNenly, "but community members representing community members."
"If you sometimes buy milk from the supermarket and sometimes from the convenience store, it does not mean that one or the other should be shut down," writes David Israelson.
"Let’s take a careful and thoughtful approach toward amalgamation. Niagara’s entire system of local democratic representation hangs in the balance," writes Kevin MacLean.
"The next month will bring the collapse of the theatre, the erasure of the historic barber shop beside it ... and geothermal drilling," writes Garth Turner.
"The published findings of this report resulted in the conclusion that while amalgamation was supposed to bring cost savings, smaller government and lower taxes, it didn’t," writes Brian Marshall.
"What was the point of having black maple leaves on the Canadian ice hockey sweaters? Was it Nike’s creative folks dictating to our national Olympic bosses?" writes Ross Robinson.
"The picture of human evolution, and indeed the evolution of most species, may look very different by the mid-century mark and beyond," writes Dr. William Brown.
"The picture of human evolution, and indeed the evolution of most species, may look very different by the mid-century mark and beyond. That’s what makes the story so intriguing for me," writes Dr. William Brown.
