Candidate Kojo Damptey concedes defeat; no election recount for Ward 14
A week after a narrow election loss in Ward 14, Kojo Damptey said he won't be seeking a recount.
At a news conference at city hall Monday morning, Damptey outlined a number of alleged problems with the election - including some issues with mail-in ballots, long lines at polling stations and late voting cards - but conceded the contest to Mike Spadafora.
I want to let you know that at this time we are accepting the outcome of the election and we wish councillor-elect Mike Spadafora all the best in his position," said Damptey.
Spadafora won the Ward 14 contest by a mere 79 votes, and Damptey said last week he was considering a recount.
The city has no specific bylaws addressing recounts. They are governed by the provincial Municipal Elections Act which says a recount can be called in the event of a tie vote, by a council resolution, or by the minister of municipal affairs. A candidate can also apply to the courts to have a recount ordered.
Damptey said after consulting the city clerk, he decided not to pursue a recount.
Going through courts, he said will take time and money, which we don't have."
Damptey was joined Monday by Ahona Mehdi, a defeated Hamilton-Wentworth District School board candidate for Wards 8 and 14, to talk about racism they experienced on the campaign trail, among other concerns.
Mehdi said she was spat upon by one person when she was knocking on doors, and another man attempted to kick her after asking if she was woke."
Damptey's campaign was the target of white nationalists, who put a white lives matter" sticker over his face on a bus shelter election advertisement.
He said things were tense enough that his campaign volunteers always operated in teams of two for their own protection while going door-to-door.
During the campaign, neither Mehdi nor Damptey never proactively raised the issue of racism or violence directed at them. On Monday, they said as racialized candidates, doing so during the campaign would have cost them votes.
I can't show frustration. I can't show anger because that will be used against me. Look, he can't control himself. That's a Black angry man,'" said Damptey.
The pair also took issue with an Oct. 20 Spectator story about the arrest of 27-year-old Samson Dekamo, who is charged in connection to a 2021 fatal Glanbrook home invasion.
The story pointed out that Dekamo once worked for the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI), the same organization where Damptey previously served as the executive director. The story did not mention Damptey or any other candidate. Other media organizations reported on the same arrest and included the same details.
However, Damptey - who believes the article injured his election chances because some people unfairly linked him with the alleged crime - said The Spectator's intentions in its coverage are not relevant. He said the impact is what matters.
You cannot cover racialized candidates the same way you cover white candidates," he said.
The Spectator's editor-in-chief, Paul Berton, said last week that the paper reviewed the story and believes the information and context is both accurate and relevant."
Charges and suspects in that crime are a matter of legitimate public interest, reflected in the fact that multiple media organizations published the story."
In response to The Spectator's coverage of Dekamo, 14 people - elected councillors and trustees and some candidates, including Mehdi - are boycotting the Spectator and issued an open letter on Twitter saying they will not speak to the newspaper's reporters.
Mehdi did answer questions from The Spectator at the news conference Monday.
During that news conference, Mehdi accused The Spectator of deliberately attempting to ruin Damptey's campaign, calling the story an intentional act of anti-Black racism and sabotage."
She provided no evidence for her allegation, which Berton previously called preposterous."
Grant LaFleche is an investigative reporter with The Spectator. Reach him via email: glafleche@torstar.ca