The Incline

Happy Election Day, #HamOnt! Polls are open from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Don't skip the school trustee section of your ballot! If you want to know more about the people running for trustee in your ward, check out my handy 2026 School Trustee Candidates factsheet here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Today on The Incline → We're almost there, #HamOnt. The campaigns roll out endorsements, weird AI third party advertisements confuse voters, and Vancouver shows us...something. theincline.email/p/103-hours

Today on The Incline → The Cable 14 #HamOnt mayoral debate was a mess. But it provided some insight into the state of the race and the people offering to lead our community. theincline.email/p/the-not-so...

#HamOnt Friends - do you want to Talk Trustees? I'm doing an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on the Hamilton Sub-reddit to talk about my candidacy for HWDSB Trustee Wards 8 &14 - next Tuesday October 20th 7:30-9:30 PM. Power up those ⌨️and join me - Trustees remain a vital link in our communities!

Today on The Incline → 18 days to go in the 2026 #HamOnt Municipal Election. I wouldn't make any bets just yet. theincline.email/p/place-your...

"It's *getting* nasty"? Friend, you and your crew have been slinging mud since before I was even old enough to vote. Y'all spent the better part of last year trying to get me fired from a part time gig because I had the audacity to critique you. Your candidate played in a grey area. Get over it.

I wrote about the Bay Observer last year. A few weeks later, someone who is now a Ward 2 candidate began posting extensively about how I was writing newsletters on the taxpayer dime after my personal information was leaked by a colleague close to the Observer crew. theincline.email/p/observing-...

Big shift for a "paper" that launched with the goal of presenting "hopefully fairly, news and commentary of interest to the great community of Hamilton/Burlington." Prolific commenter "Kim" previously used the anti-Semitic dogwhistle "cultural Marxists" to refer to similar "groups".

"It's getting nasty", Bay Observer editor John Best writes, as he posts the addresses of @cameronkroetsch.bsky.social's supporters, disparages the CBC's reporting, and approves comments calling myself and a host of community members "parasites" and "grifters". #HamOnt bayobserver.ca/its-getting-...

No new Incline today, but definitely check out the CBC Hamilton coverage of the 2026 #HamOnt municipal election. Highly recommended for staying up-to-date with the state of the races across the city!

Today on The Incline → The story of the first right-wing populist candidate for mayor of #HamOnt. theincline.email/p/the-sledge...

Today on The Incline → A look at some of the issues that should be on everyone's radar as we get closer and closer to the 2026 #HamOnt municipal election. theincline.email/p/back-on-th...

Today on The Incline → One week of nominations to go in the 2026 #HamOnt municipal election. A quick look at what's happened this week. Andrea's in, there's little movement in the council races, and trustees are finally stepping up. theincline.email/p/one-more-w...

Today on The Incline → A little more than two weeks to go for nominations in the 2026 #HamOnt municipal election. Looking at the impact of the Hamilton East-Stoney Creek by-election, the mayor's absence from the race, and how few trustee candidates are running. theincline.email/p/up-in-the-...

Today on The Incline → The calm of summer is disrupted by a gust of data centre-related enthusiasm in #HamOnt. theincline.email/p/a-breeze-i...

Today on The Incline → Why has one of the biggest stories about the 2026 #HamOnt election gone mostly unnoticed? Featuring an interview with mayoral candidate @scarlettformayor.bsky.social theincline.email/p/sock-it-to...

Today on The Incline → An odd story about #YHMvotes2026 raises questions about the state of the media in Hamilton. #HamOnt theincline.email/p/the-fourth...

Today on The Incline → The slates of the past, the slates of the present. Some federal Conservative coordination in the early days of #YHMvotes2026. theincline.email/p/strange-be...

Today on The Incline → The first part of a series on what to expect during the 2026 #HamOnt municipal election: the left-wing spectre and how some political actors are trying to label their opponents in ways that don't align with reality. #YHMvotes2026 theincline.email/p/on-the-rad...

It's 2029. Potholes on Barton swallow three more cars today as kids & racoons fight in the crumbled ruins of rec centres. From the ghost town of #HamOnt City Hall, Councillor Whitehead's mic is cut when he calls Mayor Cooper's 2.5% tax increase "basically communism". www.thespec.com/news/council...

Keanin Loomis is running for mayor of Hamilton #HamOnt #YHMvotes2026

Today on The Incline → How to challenge the narrative that #HamOnt is "in decline", especially as some candidates prepare to make that their central argument in this fall's municipal election. #YHMvotes2026 theincline.email/p/in-decline

Today on The Incline → Council rebels against Andrea Horwath's 2026 #HamOnt budget. Will that make her re-election bid this October *far* more complicated? #YHMvotes2026 theincline.email/p/the-great-...

Today on The Incline → It may be freezing in #HamOnt, but the 2026 municipal election campaign is starting to heat up. #YHMvotes2026 theincline.email/p/heating-up...

Today on The Incline → David Lewis's early political campaigns in #HamOnt, Avi Lewis's run for the leadership of the #NDP, and politics in this messy moment. theincline.email/p/a-sea-of-c...

Today on The Incline → When it comes to crime in #HamOnt, it's a case of feelings vs. facts. And with #YHMvotes2026 on the horizon, some on the city's political right are going all-in on feelings. theincline.email/p/crime-story

Today on The Incline → An end-of-year check-in and a reflection on the loss of a dedicated community champion in #HamOnt. theincline.email/p/the-public...

Doug Ford's government uses a lot of "D" words to justify their actions. But they're undermining the most important “D” word of them all - democracy. #onpoli #ontpoli (Totally forgot to post this yesterday when it was published, but here's a gift link to my latest in The Spec: tinyurl.com/533jm9rm)

Today on The Incline → After a wall goes up in front of the #HamOnt Salvation Army, many in the community wonder if its days are numbered. A long look at the past, present, and future of the York Boulevard shelter. theincline.email/p/the-perks-...

Today on The Incline → A mayoral poll drops one year out from the #HamOnt municipal election that signals the mood of the city's electorate. PLUS poll-by-poll results from the federal election and what they might mean. theincline.email/p/poll-by-poll

Today on The Incline → The Incline returneth. theincline.email/p/scandal-at...

Today on The Incline → A long look at the #HamOnt Ward 8 council by-election. theincline.email/p/but-first-...

Today on The Incline → Over the past few days, a #HamOnt political controversy in Ward 4 has had people buzzing. A look at how this non-scandal is similar to ones in the past and who is behind this campaign-like attack on a sitting councillor. theincline.email/p/home-on-th...

Today on The Incline → An Incline 107th Edition Spectacular! A few thoughts on a couple of provincial things people should be paying attention to and a few links to some of my favourite Incline articles from the past year. theincline.email/p/the-inclin...

Today on The Incline → It's hot in #HamOnt! A look at heat warnings and some of Hamilton's hottest days over the years. theincline.email/p/the-heat

Today on The Incline → oops! The newsletter *is* the story. On the #HamOnt non-scandal that is me. theincline.email/p/scandal-at...

Today on The Incline → A long weekend addition that looks at hate in #HamOnt, the Ford government's drive to privatize provincial parks, and how the opposition can take the fight to the stubbornly popular premier. theincline.email/p/fourteen-f...

Today on The Incline → We're 459 days out from the 2026 #HamOnt municipal election, but the mayoral rumours are already flying. I take a look at one possible candidate, the forum on which he's been sharing his views, and what his platform might be next year. theincline.email/p/observing-...

Today on The Incline → As #HamOnt council meets today, a look at last week's committee meeting where the debate over online voting took centre stage. theincline.email/p/together-i...

he's running #SD4Ward8 theincline.email/p/round-hami...

Today on The Incline → Is the Ford Government's takeover of 5 school boards a sign of things to come? Is this the beginning of the end for elected school trustees in Ontario? theincline.email/p/the-magica...

The plume returneth! theincline.email/p/children-o...

Today on The Incline → The Strathcona Quinquennium. Moving after five years in #HamOnt's Strathcona neighbourhood, I reflect on the history that was around me. theincline.email/p/the-strath...

Today on The Incline → 'Round Hamilton. It's a mishmash of #HamOnt political stories, from my article on local bullies and an internet fight over softball to the Ward 8 by-election and the proposed council hiring freeze. theincline.email/p/round-hami...

My latest in The Hamilton Spectator: we need to have a conversation about bullies, strongmen, and the politics of division in #HamOnt. Link to a gift article ↓ for all you cool Bluesky folks. www.thespec.com/opinion/cont...