With new council term about to begin, questions linger around Ward 14 race

With Hamilton's new city council set to assemble for its first meeting Wednesday, questions remain around the Ward 14 race - and one of the tactics used by the eventual winner.

Mike Spadafora won by a mere 79 votes after promoting a high-profile endorsement that did not exist.

A robocall, circulated during the final week of the campaign, said Spadafora had the official endorsement of outgoing mayor Fred Eisenberger, who won every poll in Ward 14 during the 2018 mayoral election.

Eisenberger, however, says he did not endorse Spadafora.

When asked about the robocall, Spadafora only said that his campaign believed it had Eisenberger's blessing. He has not answered any other questions about the call.

The robocall is but one issue to arise out of the Ward 14 race following the election. The runner up, Kojo Damptey, has said he believes a Spectator story about the arrest of a person who used to work at the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI) - where he was executive director - negatively impacted his campaign and that of a woman running as a school board trustee in the ward.

Ward 8 councillor-elect John Paul Danko also used that story to draw a link between the person charged and Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board candidate Ahona Mehdi, whose electoral bid in Ward 8 and 14 was unsuccessful.

The phantom endorsement

Spadafora and Damptey were far apart on many issues during the election, particularly on the matter of police funding.

While Damptey has long advocated for redirecting money in the police budget to programs to combat homelessness, addiction and racism in Hamilton, Spadafora said he would not support reducing that budget.

In the last week of the campaign, the former Progressive Conservative candidate issued a robocall saying he had the support of Eisenberger.

This is Mike Spadafora and I'm running to be your Ward 14 councillor," the recorded message said. I'm pleased to accept the official endorsement of Mayor Fred Eisenberger."

However, while Spadafora asked for such an endorsement, Eisenberger said he never issued one.

Eisenberger said he told Spadafora he was open to the possibility of giving him an endorsement, but wanted more information before doing so.

I told him that you need to send me something and I'll consider it. But that never happened," Eisenberger told the Spectator. So presumptively that was the end of it. Nothing was ever done to give him an endorsement."

Spadafora did not answer questions about why he thought he had the mayor's support.

When asked if he is concerned that a candidate using an non-existent endorsement won a close ward race, Eisenberger said, I have no idea what happened in 14."

It is not clear how many voters were swayed by the call and the Municipal Act, which governs elections in Ontario, does not have any provisions that apply to a situation like this.

While an integrity commission complaint could be filed against Spadafora, the commissioner can only recommend penalties of censure or fines. A complaint also cannot be filed before the new council gathers for its inaugural meeting Wednesday.

The deleted tweet

The robocall is not the only issue casting a shadow over the Ward 14 election. Damptey and Mehdi have alleged racism hurt their chances at the ballot box.

On Oct. 20, the Spectator published a story about the arrest of Samson Dekamo, who faces an accessory after the fact charge connected to a 2021 home invasion that resulted in the killing of Nano Ali and the kidnapping of his father, Faqir Ali. Dekamo was once an employee at HCCI, which Damptey headed up prior to his run for council.

Dekamo was also a member of Hamilton Students for Justice, a group that included Mehdi as a member.

The Spectator story did not mention Damptey or Mehdi.

However, the day the story was published, Danko issued a tweet linking Mehdi with Dekamo.

I have questions - a lot of questions, especially as this directly relates to a Ward 8 trustee candidate currently running for election," Danko wrote in a tweet that shared the Spectator's story. However, I'll reserve judgment - everyone is innocent until proven guilty - which is far more grace than some associated with him ever offered."

The tweet was deleted not long after it was posted.

In an emailed statement, Danko said he was not connecting Mehdi with the home invasion, noting that he did not name her in the tweet.

However, in a followup email, Danko said the tweet was referring strictly to the connection between Ms. Mehdi and Mr. Dekamo through their shared connection to Hamilton Students for Justice."

Danko did not answer other questions about the tweet from the Spectator, including why he believed Dekamo's charges were relevant to Mehdi's campaign or why he deleted the tweet.

Mehdi, who lost the election to Becky Buck by more than 1,200 votes, levelled racism allegations at Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board trustees in 2020. While a 2021 independent investigation did not find evidence to support all of Mehdi's allegations, it did find some trustee comments were racist.

The board at the time was chaired by Danko's spouse, Dawn Danko.

At an Oct. 31 news conference, Damptey said the intentions of the Spectator's coverage are not relevant. He said the impact is what matters.

Mehdi, meanwhile, called the story an intentional act of anti-Black racism and sabotage."

The Spectator's editor-in-chief, Paul Berton, has denied these allegations.

Grant LaFleche is an investigative reporter with The Spectator. Reach him via email: glafleche@torstar.ca