Muni elex: meet the first-day keeners
What a May Day we’re having here in Canada’s London, the place where we can swap environmentally-sensitive land so developers can build a high-rise, but you’ll have to dismantle your shed because the City did some re-measuring and refuses to discuss it… sssshhhh, rules are important, y’know, hush now and have a doughnut.
This is your local news ROUNDUP for the week, prepared by your comms support (that’s me, hello there1 you leaders of London, Ont.) as a piece of Public Interest Journalism. And, on this terrifying May Day2, IMO the most exciting story in Canada’s London is at City Hall, where nominations are now open and, boy, did the hopefuls know it.
I counted 15 in line at one point, including some well-known local folks whom I will detail below. Some of their haircuts were as fresh as a daisy. (Hi everybody! You all looked great!)
And, I’ll aggregate some reporting, because the gang was all there and our local media is ready to rock on this one. We had a lot of fun hanging out. It’s going to be a great summer of municipal mayhem3 and you should totes stick with London Ontario Online News for your clear guide to what’s what and such, including shares from all our lovely media pals. As Billy Bragg sings: co-operation, not competition.
UNUSUAL NOTE: I’ve now done two edits to this post, adding reporting and new info from the City website, which is listing all candidates here and shows 21 registering today (Friday).
There will be new posts on this in the days and months to come, oh yes.
And, scroll way down for a Lightning Round of other local news; there, I’m mindful you were already served with quite a lot of reading in my COUNCIL CATCHUP post yesterday. No pressure. The idea is this is an easier, less-stressful way to stay up to date. It’s Friday all over the world.
Now it’s the fun part. Who showed up today? Let’s take a look.
Highlights from the queue
Again, our Bible for the foreseeable is this web page, where City Staff are adding live updates as candidates file to run. We should note they MUST show up in person with paperwork, and that info is as public domain as it gets, you guys, so expect me to make full use of it in the months to come.
As we go, we’ll develop a wards-based structure that makes it clear who’s running where and seeks to provide some parity for all candidates. For now, though, it’s the shits4 and the giggles and nothing else, because it’s always later than you think5. Let’s tell some stories about people.
The challengers
Who’s seeking to join council in 2026? Let’s separate them from the incumbents, knowing everybody is running again (except Jerry Pribil in Ward 5 and Steve Hillier in Ward 14).
Kristen Krose
We begin with the first mayoral challenger, who scored a lot of media this week from a well-timed release just before noms opened. Krose hasn’t held public office but used to work for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, if you’d like a hint about where she sits on the political spectrum. She owns a public affairs company in London and was in the line today, full of energy for what’s ahead6.
Some media hits:
CTV London - Daryl Newcombe with the story. A chunk of last night’s news there.
London Free Press - with a live pic from today, I am pleased to see7. It’s a Norm De Bono story with an interesting last line that implies strong local business connections:
Her father Bill Ross owns Form and Build Supply in London, a construction firm in London.
CBC London - a great interview with Andrew Lupton, and I focused on this part:
Krose didn't want to venture into specifics when asked how she'd tackle some of London's pressing issues, such as housing, homelessness, managing growth and paying for services while keeping taxes down in a fast-growing city.
I hope that changes soon and will look out for policy announcements from all mayoral candidates.
Roger Caranci
Here’s a face that City Hall knows well: a former councillor, mayoral candidate and prominent local businessman whose real estate work means his name is all over town even when there isn’t an election. Running against incumbent Hadleigh McAlister in Ward 1, he has to be a strong reason why I lament Ontario’s election betting rules because I could’ve made money on this.
You can find background on Caranci here, a London Free Press story from when he ran for mayor. I’ll never forget8 being in the room when he withdrew and endorsed Paul Cheng, who went on to lose to Matt Brown. And here’s a fairly-recent story with Caranci advocating on social issues; with Ward 1 now including Old East Village, we can expect him to swing some haymakers right away.
Tom Cull
This is easy - Cull has a great website. He’s probably best-known locally for two things: his poetry, which means he’s doomed to smartarses rhyming at him all day; and his environmental work, leading Thames River cleanups for 14 years.
Cull is running in Ward 4 and has Councillor Susan Stevenson in his sights. As you might expect, he’s a progressive thinker. We can expect him to provide some perspective as the incumbent continues to make - let’s call them - expansive statements about local problems.
Sherri and Alex Moore
The first Thames Valley Trustee candidate in line, Sherri Moore has a lot of experience and a detailed website here. She’s seeking re-election, despite having experienced the last few years of astonishing turmoil at TVDSB.
And, next to her in line was her husband, Alex Moore, who’s challenging Councillor Paul Van Meerbergen in south London’s Ward 10.
Sarah Lehman
Here’s a returning contender, Sarah Lehman, pictured above. Here’s how she did last time (2022 results):
And this time, Steve Hillier isn’t running.
ADDED AT 4: Lehman’s interviewed in Daryl Newcombe’s story for CTV London here and there’s some important background in Andrew Lupton’s story here - she gave birth a week ago. Congratulations!
The incumbents
Now let’s start a list of who’s filed to run again, seeking to hold on to their seat.
My visits and my lovely spies9 in the building tell me the following have now filed:
Councillor Corrine Rahman
Running in Ward 5, and seeking to replace Jerry Pribil. Ward changes pushed this, to some extent. Right now, Rahman represents Ward 7 (in the North East).
Councillor David Ferreira
The downtown councillor was in line and is planning to stick around in Ward 13.
Councillor Hadleigh McAlister
Ward 1’s incumbent was the first current councillor in line today, and has filed to run again.
Councillor Sam Trosow
Not around today but plans to file next week. He’s Ward 6.
LATE EXTRA (4 p.m. update)
Mayor Josh Morgan
The incumbent mayor made a point by joining the line to file this afternoon. He’s ready to run.
Councillor Peter Cuddy
I dropped by around 3 and he was filing for Ward 3. Now on the official list.
Councillor Skylar Franke
Confirmed as registered to run again in Ward 11 (Old South).
Councillor Steve Lehman
Filed to run again in Ward 8.
Send me any updates. Glad to hear from candidates.
The reporting
Ryan Goodison of the London Free Press has been doing live updates to his story here. It includes useful background on the process. He also has an interview with Ward 6 candidate Ian Leishman.
The Freeps’ Brian Williams interviewed a chain gang10 of mayors here, and it includes some comments from Mayor Josh Morgan on his plans.
Matt Brown, that former mayor, also brought together some panellists to discuss local politics and it’s on his podcast here. I hear Matt showed up at City Hall clutching papers this morning, just to wind up people in the queue, because he is not running. See? Shits & giggles.
LATE EXTRA: Here’s Daryl Newcombe of CTV London with his take, including an interview with Councillor Hadleigh McAlister.
And here’s what CBC London’s Andrew Lupton did with it all: link. Andrew has a series of interviews with candidates, including Lehman, Caranci, Stephen D'Amelio of Ward 13, and Lois Ward of Ward 10.
(Both links are the same as under the Lehman subhed above.)
Further story of interest: Daryl Newcombe talks to Morgan and Krose, starting the mayoral race off.
THIS POST HAS NOW BEEN PUT TO BED, following updates at 4 p.m. and at midnight. Further reporting will come in new posts.
Phew phew phew. remember - you can point me at stories or people or content anytime you like. There are many more opportunities to share.
Leaving City Hall: the Lightning Round
Let’s talk about something else.
Craig Needles talks traffic in Old South on the podcast here.
Street sweeper vote hits CTV: link
VIA Rail is giving families accessing paediatric care free travel to LHSC
They made an arrest in that Sarnia shooting case: link
Police do policing and hand out tickets: link
And the local storytellers
Cedric Richards takes you through central London, with tales of the Cronyns and more here.
Sports: Gameday London.
Business: London Inc.
Comment: Steve Cordes’ Community Matters.
Discussion: Matt Brown’s podcast.
Theatre: The Beat Magazine and TheatreInLondon.ca.
And of course the best one: Larry Cornies’ audio blog
Enough aieeeee
We’re still working the news mines happily. Please enjoy the sunshine and watch out for the frost. Might be too soon to plant.
Thanks for following along. Remember every share helps!
- Mike
When he was younger, this fella looked like a guy I knew when I lived in Perthshire. Nah… never mind.
My recent post on that.
Disclaimer: I do not endorse mayhem of any kind.
This goes out to Cheri, who wants me to swear more.
A general PR note: if your headshot has obviously had a lot of work done, it is received differently by most audiences.
RIP Mike Sloan.
This is a euphemism, and not grounds to deport me.
Gotta love a collective noun.
Thank you so much for the coffee this morning, Mike! It was a long process!
Thank you for your service!