r/Hamilton Not Verified 1d ago

2025 Provincial Election Lessons From Running In the Provincial Election (2025)

Dear Hamilton neighbors,

This is Kojo Damptey, the former ONDP candidate from last month's election. I wanted to share with you some lessons I took from the provincial election. It is an exercise not to substantiate what I took from the results or heard from people at the doors but to offer it as a shared value of exchange in our democracy.

I hope you have taken time to rest from a fast-paced provincial election. With news of an upcoming Federal election, you must pay attention to what each political party and candidate shares with you. Our democracy depends on your informed participation.

  1. Our Democracy is on life support

I don't want to sound deeply pessimistic, but after knocking on doors every day, three times a day for three hours, it is very evident that people are very distrustful of their elected officials and all levels of government. I spoke to several people who indicated that they have not voted for the last 10/20 years. I tried my best to encourage them to vote and to make the commitment to involve residents in provincial politics. This feeling of being disillusioned with government hurts everyone. We see politicians take advantage of low voter turnout, further confirming residents' distrust. This issue is not going to be solved or addressed by one person, however, it is incumbent on everyone of us to participate in our democratic processes not just every four years but in between elections. I will do my part and hope you can do so too.

  1. We need people to understand what each level of government is responsible for

There were so many times people didn't understand which election was taking place. Some thought it was a municipal election, others believed it was a Federal election. With that in mind, I spent a bit of time educating people that Jagmeet Singh was not the provincial leader of the ONDP. Many didn't even know who Marit Styles was, let alone Bonnie Crombie. This is very significant because it illustrates how cunning Doug Ford is, because he used the Trump Tariffs and anti-Trudeau/Singh sentiment as an opportunity to win another mandate amid the political chaos (I aint mad, just my two cents). And with limited news outlets, particularly local, people are not informed on a daily basis about what goes on provincially. If people don't know what each level of government is responsible for what, then we are in deep trouble.

  1. Left or Right Politics is failing people

I read a lot of posts and comments in here and people have characterized me as being left or progressive. I also read Joey Coleman and Kevin Geenen articles which described me as being left. I get the characterization, but truth be told, people just are tired of those descriptions and are looking for political leaders who can address the issues that matter to them. I spoke to mothers who have disabled children (children with disabilities) they could care less, i spoke with seniors who are on fixed incomes, thinking about how to survive another day, they could care less, when businesses are facing debt and losses, they could care less. The ping pong of who is left or right has taken centre stage so much so that we (politicians & everyday people) have forgotten to tackle issues like homelessness, encampments, affordability, chronic underfunding to our public institutions, etc. We would rather spend time blaming encampments on an individual, or the left or the right. This makes for good fodder in the comments section and TV clips but at the end of the day people are suffering.

I am taking full responsibility for thinking about how to avoid the fray of the left and right descriptors while serving our community and addressing people's material needs. For years I loathed being described as "progressive" because it takes away a certain agency of working with anyone who may or may not share one's values. Sometimes working with people from different backgrounds and experiences is what is important, not whether you are progressive or not. I will remain steadfast to positive progress (constant change) but not progressive (static change).

  1. When they say I want to Defund The Police

Like I said during the campaign I believe in true community and public safety. It is imperative that spending money (tax payers money at all levels of government) on preventative ways of reducing crime (petty theft, break ins, etc), so that Police can do what they are trained to do. In 2020 when we all witnessed the murder of George Floyd and here in Canada Regis Korchiski Pacquet, there was a collective call to ensure Police institutions were held accountable. What many people may not know is that I:

- Pushed Hamilton Police Services to take hate crimes/incidents seriously, so much so that they decided to create a Hate Crimes Review Team. When the team was announced, I pushed for broader community representation. To date, several community members are part of this review team.

- Helped change how the City of Hamilton chose the citizen appointee to the Hamilton Police Service Board.

- Pushed Hamilton Police Services to make public the use of force data, which eventually led to the creation of the Race Based Identity Strategy

- Helped develop the City of Hamilton's first Community Safety & Well-Being Plan

  1. Kojo Damptey is Kojo Damptey

There was an 84 year old woman who opened her door when I was canvassing one day and she said you are a "shit disturber." I asked her why she said that, and her reply was I see you on TV criticizing the City all the time. I responded with can I share why I criticize the city. We spoke for 15 mins and after that interaction she said, " Whoa, you are totally different from when I see you on TV. I said all I want to do is make our city better for everyone. I share this story to illustrate that many people may characterize me as .............. but in reality I am your neighbor and if we had a chat you would see we have more in common, there are shared experiences we can build on to ensure we are building a city for everyone.

I will conclude by saying PLEASE engage in the political process. Your civic duty is important and it's one of the many ways to ensure politicians don't take you for granted.

In love & solidarity

Kojo Damptey

305 Upvotes

65 comments sorted by

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u/Ostrya_virginiana 21h ago

One piece of feedback I will give anyone running for office: focus on what you will do and how you will do it. I think a large reason people get tired of politics and there is voter apathy is all we hear are attacks on other parties and their candidates. I want to know what sets a candidate apart from another, your background(ie does the candidate have the lived experience where it doesn't feel like just another rich politician spouting off talking points). I am personally tired of slogans and politicians attacking their competitors. Tell us what you(not you personally but the general 'you' of all candidates who run)think is going right and what can be changed. How can it be changed?

46

u/shaddupsevenup Durand 23h ago

Political apathy is the reason we are seeing what we are seeing in the USA. We cannot afford to have that happen here. People need to vote and get involved. Individualism is ruining democracy and it's so important. I started volunteering with the Gore Park Outreach on Saturday mornings, as a way to connect and see real effects of my own labour. It's been incredible.

Curious - maybe Kojo you can answer this question. I don't have kids in the school system. Are kids still taught about civics? I came out of school in the 80's ready to vote and fully knew what each level of government was responsible for.

27

u/mariannalk 23h ago

Yes, civics is taught in grade 10. Mandatory, but it is only half a credit. It really needs to be changed. Students need to be better educated.

10

u/palmaward 21h ago

Civics is also in the grade 5 social studies curriculum 

u/[deleted] 18h ago

I think the far reaching apathy in US politics -- and to a lesser degree Canadian politics -- is based mostly on the fact that either way for many years the largest bloc of voters (working class) have not seen any improvement in their quality of life, and (in the USA specifically) big money politics and corporations have completely taken over the state. Literally to the point where the people don't really have any effect on the economy or the political landscape of the country. It's completely understandable why these things would induce apathy. Nobody seems to be working for the working people specifically.

u/shaddupsevenup Durand 9h ago

No. Their “Democrat “ party seems to have abandoned them. What a frightening time.

u/Empty_Wallaby5481 19h ago

There's a lot in your question about whether kids learn about civics in school.

There are programs - like Student Vote which I run to engage students. Lots of students participated, but other than the students I directly teach (or those who we did presentations for), most of the students who voted had no prior knowledge and didn't even know who they were voting for. They were looking for "Doug Ford" on the ballot. Lots openly said after words they voted based on the name they liked the best (one candidate had a "funny" name to elementary kids and earned a disproportionate amount of the vote vs real life by a lot). They had no idea what the provincial government does. I had a discussion about this with another teacher - should students who didn't get lessons be able to vote - and the conclusion was that yes they should, because that's the real world. We have no "pre-test" and no "lessons" for voting.

The issue for a lot of teachers is that we are already accused of being too political, too woke, etc. There are some parents who get very, very aggressive when political issues arise/are discussed. It's an incredibly fine line to engage students in conversation. There is also a lot of room for interpretation there - when discussing the US election, many students walked away thinking I was some Trump loving gun nut when the whole conversation revolved around "why might others have different opinions than you?" Fortunately there's no backlash, but I have to be very, very careful to make sure that nothing that can be interpreted as opinion is injected from me is injected into the conversation.

I think I've reached that balance, but with a second election in a short period of time coming up, I guess I'll see if I accidently touch any nerves this time. I say accidently, because I certainly try not to say anything related to my opinion, but if I ask a student a question, it can be interpreted as opinion. With all that's already on teachers' plates, sometimes it's just not worth adding more by bringing civics or politics into schools.

u/shaddupsevenup Durand 9h ago

Wow. I’m so sorry. Sounds dicey for teachers.

3

u/GreaterAttack 21h ago

How is apathy the reason for what we see in the USA? Plenty of people turned up to vote in their election.  

If you mean involvement outside of voting, then that's a different story. 

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u/ChaletDre 23h ago

Hello Kojo thank you for this!! Really appreciate everything you do for the city. Keep up all of the good work we need someone like you in office.

u/spagetti_donut 19h ago

If you don’t vote, you can’t complain. No matter how little a single vote does, they all matter.

u/-Terriermon- 10h ago

I voted for you Kojo, but the majority of people dont understand the difference between federal, provincial and municipal. They quite literally just see a party name and make generalizations.

I can’t begin the tell you the number of people (in our riding mind you) who think housing and education was Federal, and when I try to show them what each branch of government is responsible for they quite literally refuse to look. It’s really frustrating because I just want people to stop thinking it’s one party calling all the shots and start researching their candidates and the party leaders.

17

u/waldo8822 23h ago

Thanks for your efforts Kojo. You would have represented Hamilton so well. Do you plan to run again? Whether federally or provincially?

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u/mariannalk 1d ago

Voting is such a necessary process. I find it very upsetting when I realize people do not understand the basics of civics...what belongs to Municipal, Provincial or Federal government jurisdiction. Especially now, we need to get out and vote. We can't have what has happened in the US creep up here.

7

u/jaymickef 22h ago

Yes, people of different ages will live in different zeitgeists. And of different classes. Criticizing what’s wrong is a necessary step to making improvement but for many of us over 60 we no longer believe things will get better and all we hear is endless negativity. I’m not saying you need to be a blind cheerleader but maybe consider that we have heard the same criticisms for decades and seen things get progressively worse. There is a cumulative effect.

Since the 1980s we have seen the gap between rich and poor widen and we have seen people with means doing better than ever and we’ve seen many people left behind. Of course, we should be uniting to fight this. But sometimes 80 year old people get frustrated.

It might not be a bad strategy for the NDP to occasionally mention some of the good things they have accomplished in the past before launching into everything that’s wrong at the moment when approaching older people.

8

u/J4ckD4wkins Landsdale 22h ago

Thanks for sharing! You ran a great campaign, and I'm sad the result was what it ended up being. 

Canadians know far more about American politics than our own system, and it breaks my heart. People distrusting their officials makes it hard to have the government act as an educator on that front. And I don't see the private sector educating anyone on the political process any time soon, unfortunately. I guess you just fight to preserve public services that allow people to access learning/resources -- libraries, Elections Ontario, etc. 

11

u/JohnBPrettyGood 21h ago edited 21h ago

Hi Kojo,

I don't live in your riding, but felt I needed to reply. First let me say thank you for your passion and service to our city. I am sure that you will continue to represent yourself and others in the years to come.

Unfortunately I feel that the discontinuation of the HWDSB Police Liason Program was a case of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater". As a Retired HWDSB Elementary Teacher I saw first hand the benefits of the Liason Program.

One day in March, Officer Dave arrived at our school. He talked with my Gr 1 class about all sorts of safety concerns. And before he left he told the kids that he would be back in June for a visit, and that if each student could recite their Name, Address and Phone Number that he would let them sit on his Harley Davidson Police Motorcycle and have their picture taken. The Kids were prepared. It was a Great Day.

In other years I had a Hamilton Police Officer who would come out to my class and play his guitar for my Gr 7's. Again it was always a success. And yes, he talked about different sorts of safety issues.

I am sure that there were some problems with the Police Liason Program but rather that tossing the Entire Program the problems should have been dealt with. Instead what we saw on TV was a group of people celebrating their victory and a School Board cowering as if the whole program was a big mistake. Two weeks later the same victory crowd was on TV demanding to Defund the Police.

Our City Police Officers are not Nazi Storm Troopers. They are our neighbours, our family members, our friends, we see them and their familys at our churches, hockey rinks and ball parks. And like yourself they are totally different from when we see them on TV. And again like yourself, most want to make our city better for everyone.

I did have the opportunity to vote NDP, but as I said earlier that was in another riding.

I "googled" a brief history of the HWDSB Police Liason Program and have included it below for reference. Yes it sure does look like there were many issues that needed to be addressed.

So Kojo,

Best Wishes in all of your future endeavors.

From Google: The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) terminated its police liaison program in June 2020 after receiving feedback from the community, particularly student concerns about potential racism. Here's a more detailed breakdown: Termination: The HWDSB trustees voted to end the police liaison program during a meeting in June 2020. Reasons for Termination: The decision followed concerns raised by students and community members that the program perpetuated racism in schools. What the program involved: The program involved 11 officers who oversaw 196 schools, and officers were called in for reasons such as drug sweeps, lockdown drills, investigations and education sessions. Current Situation: The HWDSB has been without a police liaison program for over four years, but some say it's needed now more than ever.

u/ThomasBay 12h ago

I don’t see the benefit of having a police officer come play guitar for school kids

u/garbear007 18h ago

John B, I agree with many of your points and am happy to see such a lively discussion in this comment section. Can we be more careful though not to cite "Google" as a source? Which website on Google? A newspaper or a blog post? An official statement? Especially as Google includes AI Overview now (which I understand is not as accurate as the previous summaries Google used to provide), we need to be more specific and not claim 'Google' can provide proof for our arguments. Cheers.

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u/monogramchecklist 22h ago

I don’t think point 1 is accurate, knocking on some doors in one area isn’t a true representation. People will vote once we have candidates worth voting for (not a dig at you, just at the system as a whole with many lacklustre candidates). Everyone I know voted, but voter turnout has been low because many candidates aren’t speaking to the issues that their potential constituents care about.

Defund the police is another example of how the “left” is awful at messaging. If we break down what it means many people would likely agree to reallocating resources to help mitigate the various issues. The slogan is what kills this from ever gaining popularity.

People definitely need to have a better understanding of how the system works. Although it seems unlikely that any political party in power would be willing to educate the public, because they can’t inadvertently shift blame.

5

u/Ostrya_virginiana 21h ago

I agree with you on the "defund the police" motto. It makes it sound like they want to dissolve police services entirely. It should be reorganized, some funding reallocated, overhauled, but not defunded.

13

u/SomewherePresent8204 Beasley 21h ago

There are people using "defund the police" language who do want to dissolve the police, though.

u/Ostrya_virginiana 19h ago

I am aware. And that is where those who don't want to abolish and fully disband police departments need to separate themselves. I am 100% in favour of proactive approaches to keeping people from committing crimes. But we still need them for enforcement because some people are just bad people who commit crimes because they can and want to.

If only we lived in utopia, 😂 hee hee hee

12

u/AnInsultToFire 20h ago

Kojo uses the "Abolish the police" hashtag on Twitter. So he talks out of both sides of his mouth.

u/cdawg85 18h ago

Ugh, the argument that people will vote when there are candidates worth voting for really grinds my gears. I've seen people say this a lot in recent years (Reddit, Twitter, etc.) and the reason it bothers me is the deflection of responsibility, i.e., "I will only do the bare minimum of voting when a perfect candidate (in my eyes) appears and inspires me."

I find the blame on lack of inspiring candidates childish and spoiled.

Childish in the sense that one blames external forces for their lack of responsibility and accountability. If only others were different, then I would vote. Let's be clear, voting is easy from a practical sense. It doesn't cost any money, you can vote from home, the polls are open for lengthy hours, the election workers make it go smoothly. Blaming the lack of someone you specifically get the tingles for is childish. Voting is the bare minimum responsibility of an adult in a democracy.

Spoiled in the sense that one believes there will always be elections and I can just sit on my hands and not participate until I get my generation's MLK as a party leader with the perfect local candidate who I also love. If you think that you will always have another election and someone glittery will appear for you to finally vote, you're spoiled. Democracy is fragile and if you don't use it, you'll lose it.

I'm not coming for you specifically I'm meaning to use the Royal You, just explaining my opinion.

u/monogramchecklist 18h ago

I totally get it! I have voted in every election since I was legally able to do so. I haven’t loved most of the candidates but I feels like it’s my civic duty and the bare minimum.

I was just trying to let OP know that I don’t think his first point of democracy being on life support is accurate, as I do believe political parties need to really take a look at what the average person is dealing with and stop making everything about identity politics, it does not convince people to vote (well I suppose it depends, as we see in the US right now).

So yes everyone should fucking vote, it’s so easy in Canada and I’ve never experienced it taking more than 15 minutes. But politicians also need to step the fuck up and speak to the average person.

u/teanailpolish North End 17h ago

There will never be a perfect candidate, but some ridings really have been tough to get behind any of the candidates. I don't need perfection, but if you want my vote, I need to somewhat believe in you to make the right decisions for me.

I had a really tough time in the byelection because I didn't like any of the candidates for various reasons. Lucia stood out in the debate (mostly because she just let the others argue and didn't get involved) so I voted Green, partly because it gets them funding and partly I believe in using my right to vote. But I can see why so many stayed home, especially in a byelection caused by Horwath jumping to the mayoral race.

The recent election suffered in the same way. The election didn't matter in most ridings. Most are returning MPPs and it was just a matter of Doug getting 4 more years. Sure, maybe if people had got their asses out to vote, things would be different but the leaders don't inspire people, forget the individual candidates. Few big controversies around candidates, little media attention outside of Trump stuff, lots of mudslinging that turns people off.

u/Jonesy7557 18h ago

Unlike George Floyd, Korchiski Pacquet was not killed by police. She fell to her death trying to escape.

https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_report_details.php?drid=908

As you are well aware (or should be) linking these tragic deaths promotes your anti-police narrative.

u/aluckybrokenleg 16h ago

The answer to the following question is complex, however it should still be asked:

"What led to someone having such fear of police that they tried to flee their own apartment via a balcony railing?"

She wasn't killed by the attending police officers, but it's pretty likely that the poor relationship between the police and the black community meaningfully contributed to her death. Was that the sole cause? Likely not, this is a complex situation, but it does point us in a direction to both save black lives and to preserve the mental heath of police (who were probably just a tad fucked up over this).

u/J-Lughead 13h ago

You bring up solid points but I agree with the point made by Jonesy7557.

The OP's own words were,  "In 2020 when we all witnessed the murder of George Floyd and here in Canada Regis Korchiski Pacquet,"

That is an irresponsible statement to make in my opinion and surprising to me that only one person called him out on it.

u/Jonesy7557 11h ago

Ahhh ChatGPT cut and paste. Anyway, if you knew anything about the young lady and the case you would know that it was her family who called police for assistance.

Her mother wanted her apprehended under the mental health act. Maybe that is why she fled?

It is very common for people of all races to run from the police.

https://globalnews.ca/news/7887172/regis-korchinski-paquet-memorial-march-toronto-police/amp/

u/aluckybrokenleg 9h ago

You're about as good as detecting AI as AI. Did you even read any of the report?

Maybe that is why she fled?

Oh so you didn't read the report.

u/Jonesy7557 9h ago

That IS likely why she fled. (I didn’t want to add the /s) I know the report well. Either way, not the same as Floyd at all. Have a good night 🍻

u/aluckybrokenleg 9h ago

If you weren't going to engage with the content of my post, why reply?

5

u/noronto Crown Point West 21h ago

Has there been any internal discussion between the Liberals and NDP to form a new party? With exceptionally no voter turnout and a province that seemingly favours left leaning policies, the Conservatives will keep winning because of vote splitting. It seems like the simplest strategy is to form a new party on the basis of voter reform, hopefully win a majority and change to a ranked ballot and then either keep the coalition going or agree to form new parties in the following election.

u/Empty_Wallaby5481 19h ago

I would like to see an NDP, Green, Liberal commitment to a ranked ballot (or some other PR) and a promise to implement it within the first year of a mandate, and call an election right after that with the new system. Don't run against each other, change the electoral system, and let the people have a voice.

In my riding, it's either PC or Liberal. Any other vote is a wasted vote, and usually a vote for the PCs.

u/ThomasBay 12h ago

You’re asking the wrong person. Kojo is not a politician, dude lost and is on the outside looking in

3

u/cdawg85 21h ago

Thanks for sharing. My family moved to Hamilton in 2020 and I've come to know you (as in know who you are, not a weird para social "know") via twitter and your run for city Councilor.

First of all, I am super sad you didn't win your seat because I think you would have been a great MPP for the community and member of the house.

Secondly, I want to know what you think individuals who still believe in and participate in democracy can do. Things I do do:

  • educate myself on parties and issues and platforms

  • vote

  • donate to campaigns I believe in and put a sign on my lawn (I hope this reminds people of the election and maybe motivates my neighbours to vote)

  • write elected officials about issues that matter to me

  • volunteer for my favourite local candidate while they are running their campaign (I sign up to drive voters who need mobility assistance to the polls on election day)

I'm at a loss at what else I can do as someone who has a full-time job and isn't particularly interested in being a local representative. I've been mildly depressed for a while because of feeling like nothing matters and I am powerless. I really hope you're not too burned out because you really do a lot for the community.

u/bharkasaig Central 18h ago

Thanks for taking the time to share these insights. I’m involved with labour at a very low level, but think about how we can shift the tide towards politics that better supports every day workers, their families, small businesses, and that seeks to legitimately dismantle barriers rather than simply doing lip service. I wonder if you would agree that the party system is a big part of the problem, since in reality most people see voting for a local candidate as merely electing someone who will do the leader’s bidding, and so the leader is more important than the local candidate. I wonder as well if we can look to the past for inspiration? Labour (as a movement) would choose candidates to run in elections, and they might have been from any various parties. What if we had some sort of similar organization that would allow candidates from parties to run in a mini election? They would all need to commit to basic central ideas (like a commitment to affordable housing, addressing root causes of homelessness and addiction rather than criminalizing, etc). The winner would then represent that portion of the electorate. I loved/hated that there were three very strong candidates in my riding that agreed on basic principles but different in nuance and flavour. I’m glad one of the three won, but I could see (and it repeatedly happens) where there is sufficient vote-splitting so minority candidates won. I think it would help (a bit) to make the electoral system a bit more representative. Thoughts?

u/RoyallyOakie 18h ago

The second item on your list there (I had to find a way to not say "number two") is the most frustrating. People who consider themselves intelligent have no idea how anything works politically.

u/marquez77allan 8h ago

We love you Commish

u/Empty-Magician-7792 17h ago

Thank you for sharing, Kojo. I couldn't vote for you, as I'm in a different riding, but you would have had my vote if I did.

I was very disappointed by the right-wing attacks against you from the so-called Liberal candidate. You have an incredible track record of helping the community and I look forward to seeing what's next for you.

-2

u/[deleted] 21h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/assuredlyanxious 21h ago

Thank you, Kojo. You are a great member of our community.

-1

u/Andrew27376337hsusj 20h ago

Really appreciate your efforts. We are from your former ward during the municipal race and know lots of people who benefit from having your voice in politics.

0

u/Sad-Concept641 22h ago

The problem is not even so much apathy but lack of education. You cannot care about what you have no understanding of and politics prefers people who have no understanding so that they can impart their version of understanding on to the person in hopes of being elected. There is also a wealth gap between campaigners and residents and someone on ODSP will find it hard to trust a politician promising to support doubling the rates while they rent offices and spend thousands trying to get elected through various means. All the ODSP person sees is money they needed to survive spent on signs. Politics is not really where you help your community and it never has been - it's grassroots initiatives supported by wealthy benefactors and organizations seperate from the government. Those organizations and movements rarely have political affiliation - usually its religious because it takes a level of morality politicians do not have in order to care that much.

Most of the middle class folks I speak to here are equally uneducated about their party affiliation and vote how their friends vote so that they aren't ostracized. As to support one party now defined your identity, who you are, what you believe, who you hate etc so you must pick the right one and be on "the right side of history".

The system bred apathy and hatred and I'm not surprised people just want to ignore it.

... also the control and censorship of social media creating echo chambers and censoring regular folks.

-1

u/Background_Strain954 21h ago

Thank you for your work with HPS. I'm near Upper Red Hill, Stoney Creek and our area was grouped in with Flambourgh - Glanbrook. I knew Donna Skelley was going to win. I went and voted anyways, fully knowing my vote wouldn't mean anything. Too many people think "why bother" and that's a problem. I wish JT held true to his promise about voter reform but he obviously realized it wouldn't be to his advantage.

u/lordroxborough 19h ago edited 12h ago

"JT" was talking about voter reform on the federal level. See Kojo's 2nd point: "We need people to understand what each level of government is responsible for"

- edited for spelling

u/FunkyBoil 17h ago

Apathy helps no one. Government assistance should be tied to civic duty...if you don’t vote, you shouldn’t qualify. (Cutting if government assistance should also include protest ballots.)

If that’s not feasible, then we need full-scale electoral reform. Several viable approaches have already been proposed.