Ward 7: Esther Pauls holds onto seat

Incumbent Esther Pauls will again represent Hamilton's Ward 7 around the council horseshoe, defeating former MP Scott Duvall.

With all polls reporting, Pauls won with 6,043 votes, beating out Duvall who came second with 5,826. Pauls is one of six incumbents who managed to keep their seats in the election.

Votes in the ward were slow to trickle in. Two polling stations in the ward had their operating hours extended after they were delayed opening Monday morning.

Pauls, who was first elected councillor for the ward in 2018, announced in May she would run for a second term. Duvall, who represented Ward 7 from 2006 until 2015, decided to run for his old seat in June - more than a year after he declared his retirement from federal politics.

The race was a tale of two incumbents - one from the past and one of the present. Only two candidates ran for election to represent the ward, which is home to Lime Ridge Mall, Sam Lawrence Park and the Juravinski Cancer Centre.

The televised debate saw Pauls and Duvall, a retired steelworker, spar over housing, garbage collection, the future of the Hamilton Farmers' Market, council decorum and road safety.

Both candidates agreed more needs to be done to address the issue of safety on city streets and sidewalks, where a record number of pedestrian deaths have occurred this year.

There have been two fatal collisions - one involving a pedestrian, and one involving a cyclist - in the ward this year.

During the debate, Duvall pitched advanced green signals, pedestrian scrambles and wider sidewalks as part of the solution, while Pauls suggested a public awareness campaign for all road users.

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com