Brantford municipal election, 2003
Encyclopedia
The 2003 Brantford municipal election was held on November 10, 2003, to elect a mayor
, city councillors, and school trustees in the city of Brantford
, Ontario
.
Mike Hancock
narrowly defeated incumbent Chris Friel
in the mayoral contest, winning by only fifteen votes. Despite the close margin, Friel decided not to seek a recount.
Source: Vincent Ball, "Council table shake up: Four new faces elected by Brantford voters wanting change," Brantford Expositor, 11 November 2003, A3.
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
, city councillors, and school trustees in the city of Brantford
Brantford, Ontario
Brantford is a city located on the Grand River in Southern Ontario, Canada. While geographically surrounded by the County of Brant, the city is politically independent...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
Mike Hancock
Mike Hancock (Canadian politician)
Mike Hancock was the previous mayor of the city of Brantford, Ontario, Canada. He was elected to the position in the 2003 municipal elections, defeating three-term incumbent Chris Friel by 11668 votes to 11653...
narrowly defeated incumbent Chris Friel
Chris Friel
Chris Friel is a politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was the mayor of Brantford from 1994 to 2003 and was re-elected to the same position in the 2010 municipal election.-Early life and private career:...
in the mayoral contest, winning by only fifteen votes. Despite the close margin, Friel decided not to seek a recount.
Results
- Randy Tooke was thirty-one years old during the election and owned a café in Brantford. He focused his campaign around a call for downtown revitalization to benefit small-business owners.
- Wally Lucente was born and raised in Brantford. He first ran for the Brantford City Council in 1985Brantford municipal election, 1985The 1985 Brantford municipal election was held on November 12, 1985, to elect a mayor, city councillors, and school trustees in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The rural and small-town communities surrounding Brantford also held elections on the same day.-Results:...
with support from the Brantford and District Labour CouncilBrantford and District Labour CouncilThe Brantford and District Labour Council is a labour council in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. It is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress.-External links:*...
; he was thirty years old at the time and worked for the provincial labour ministryMinistry of Labour (Ontario)The Ministry of Labour is responsible for labour issues in the Canadian province of Ontario.The Ministry of Labour and its agencies are responsible for employment equity and rights, occupational health and safety, and labour relations....
. Defeated on that occasion, he was elected in 1988Brantford municipal election, 1988The 1988 Brantford municipal election was held on November 14, 1988, to elect a mayor, councillors, and school trustees in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Elections were also held in the rural and small-town communities around the city.-Results:...
, 1991Brantford municipal election, 1991The 1991 Brantford municipal election was held on November 12, 1991, to elect a mayor, councillors, and school trustees in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.Bob Taylor, who had served on council for only one year, was elected as mayor over incumbent Karen George....
, 1994Brantford municipal election, 1994The 1994 Brantford municipal election was held on November 14, 1994, to elect a mayor, councillors, and school trustees in the city of Brantford, Ontario.In the mayoral contest, Chris Friel defeated one-term incumbent Bob Taylor.-Results:...
, 1997Brantford municipal election, 1997The 1997 Brantford municipal election was held on November 10, 1997, to elect a mayor, councillors, and school trustees in the city of Brantford, Ontario...
, and 2000Brantford municipal election, 2000The 2000 Brantford municipal election was held on November 13, 2000, to elect a mayor, city councillors, and school trustees in the city of Brantford, Ontario, Canada.-Results:...
. During his time on council, he chaired Brantford's police services board; waterfront advisory committee; Mohawk Lake committee; and engineering, public works and community services committee. In 2001, he raised the option of a combined municipal police force for Brantford and neighbouring Brant County. While he often had poor relations with his fellow ward councillor Marguerite Ceschi-SmithMarguerite Ceschi-SmithMarguerite Ceschi-Smith is a politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. She is a prominent member of the Brantford City Council, where she has served since 1994. She is also an executive member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities...
, he nonetheless supported her downtown brownfield rehabilitation program in 2002. When Lucente ran for re-election in 2003, he said that he wanted to see the Brantford Southern Access Road through to completion. During the 2003 election, local journalist Tim Philp described him as a "good councillor" who "carries out his duties but contributes little useful to council discussions." After his defeat, he continued working for the provincial labour ministry and chaired the Brant County Police Services Board as a citizen member. - Charles "Skip" Pennell is best known as a tourism supporter in Brantford. He was active with the Pine Tree Native Centre in the 1990s and early 2000s and was the project coordinator for Kanata, a replica seventeenth-century IroquoisIroquoisThe Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
village that opened in 2000. The village won an award for Best New Tourism Attraction in Ontario and was runner-up for Best New Attraction of Canada. Pennell has also chaired Brantford's tourism advisory board. He was fifty-one years old when he ran for council; he said that he respected incumbent councillors Marguerite Ceschi-Smith and Wally Lucente and was running to offer another voice.
Source: Vincent Ball, "Council table shake up: Four new faces elected by Brantford voters wanting change," Brantford Expositor, 11 November 2003, A3.