With less than three months until Niagara hits the polls, the municipal election landscape begins to materialize, shaped by PC politicking
Niagara Democracy Watch is The Pointer’s feature aimed at increasing the public’s awareness and political involvement in the Niagara Region by highlighting key agenda items, motions and decisions.
With 2026 being a municipal election year, Niagara Democracy Watch begins its periodic look at the candidates and races in Niagara.
The upcoming municipal election may not be top of mind for many Niagara residents, especially those unfortunate to have suffered basement flooding during the recent pair of destructive storms.
But throughout the dog days of summer, the ballots Niagara residents will encounter at the polls on October 26 have slowly begun to take shape.
There are less than two weeks remaining for potential candidates to register to run for mayor, councillor and school board trustee with nominations closing at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, August 21st.
Those entering the race are campaigning in a much different political landscape in Niagara than previous years, one shaped by PC government legislation that has dramatically shifted local governance in the region.
This election, Niagara’s voters will no longer be electing representatives to the upper-tier Niagara Regional Council.
With the passage of Bill 100, the Better Regional Governance Act, the Province eliminated Niagara’s 19 directly elected councillors representing Niagara’s lower-tier municipalities at Regional Council. The controversial decision by Premier Doug Ford, who made no secret about his belief that there were too many politicians in Niagara, means the upper tier Council will be populated by just the mayors of Niagara’s 12 municipalities. A system of weighted voting, which has not been detailed by the Province, will be implemented, likely giving larger municipalities more voting power. There are concerns that St. Catharines and Niagara Falls could effectively have a veto over the wishes of the remaining smaller municipalities.
This has left 19 regional councillors without an incumbent position to run for. Five are seeking the higher office of mayor of their respective municipalities, including Tom Insinna, Pat Chiocchio, Michelle Seaborn, Tim Whalen and Andrea Kaiser. Councillors Sal Sorrento, Wayne Olson, Albert Winteveen are all looking to return to the local council seats they once held.
In addition to the loss of the 19 directly elected Regional Councillors, four lower-tier municipalities will see their council ranks reduced by two members, going from eight councillors to six, plus the mayor.
Lincoln Council approved their reductions in 2025.
During the amalgamation threat in March, Thorold, Port Colborne and Niagara-on-the-Lake approved the same size reductions to “demonstrate that Niagara's communities are ready to lead reform without waiting for direction from above”, according to a news release from Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Below is The Pointer’s breakdown of the candidates who have registered to run within this altered political landscape.
The information below is as of August 10 per each municipality’s website.
(Mayor & 12 ward councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
The field for mayor in Niagara’s largest municipality is currently incumbent Mat Siscoe and three newcomers: Ann-Marie Zammit, Jimmy Jackson and Anthony A. Adeoye.
While Siscoe’s three opponents have not previously held political office, Ms. Zammit and Mr. Jackson both appeared at the March 2 St. Catharines Council special meeting on regional governance reform, speaking against forced amalgamation. Ms. Zammit was especially assertive in calling Siscoe to task for his support of a four-city model without public consultation.
Zammit has also been critical of the recent flooding response, citing a “lack of leadership”. In response to Mayor Siscoe’s claims no infrastructure system in Canada could have handled the amount of rain received by St. Catharines, from the first weather event on July 21 to the second flood on August 2nd. Zammit posted on her social media that it has been “business as usual, status quo” at the City and “what people are asking for is better than what we have.”
At a press conference on August 4 Siscoe touted that the City’s combined sanitary and storm water capital funding has been “$22 million the last two years. That's triple what it was in the mid-2010’s.” He conceded that “we cannot engineer our way out of these weather events”, noting the need for more retention ponds and better design for the capture of storm water.
Mr. Jackson ran as a New Blue Party candidate in the Niagara Centre riding in last year’s provincial election, receiving 857 votes.
Mr. Adeoye, as per his campaign website, is a Director of Operations at VEC Ventures Inc. and is currently completing a second bachelor's degree in Sociology at Brock University.
In Ward 1, two-term councillor Greg Miller has indicated that he will not be seeking re-election.
Current councillor, Jackie Lindal is seeking a second term. Rounding out the candidates for the Merritton Ward are Geoffrey (Geoff) Crane, and Matt Aymar.
In Ward 2, St. Andrews, Matt Harris is seeking re-election. He has held the seat since 2010. Harris’s ward mate, Joe Kushner, who has served on St. Catharines Council since 1976, has yet to give an indication on whether he will seek re-election for what would be a 17th term. Kushner retired from Brock University, earlier this year, where he had been since 1969.
Former Board Chair for the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce and Cold Break Brewery owner, Noel Buckley, is seeking one of the two seats in St. Andrews. Buckley, arguably has an even higher profile in Niagara Falls, where he was the President of Niagara Falls Tourism and the President and General Manager of the Niagara Falls Convention Centre.
Also running in the ward are Jim Adair; Adrianna Clifford, a Spanish language teacher and president of the Latin Immigrant Niagara Community Association; and Bryan Blue, who ran for Regional Council in 2022 finishing 15th with approximately 2,100 votes. Mr. Blue was one of many speakers at the March 2nd special meeting on governance. Although he did not explicitly endorse amalgamation, he concluded that “the current system is not working.”
Regional Councillor Sal Sorrento is seeking to return to the City Council in Ward 3 - St. Andrew’s, where he served for two terms (2014-2022). Sorrento twice ran unsuccessfully for the PCs to be the MPP for St. Catharines, losing to Jennie Stevens (NDP) in 2022 and 2025.
Seeking re-election in the ward are two-term incumbent Kevin Townsend and one-term incumbent Mark Stevens.
New candidates are Alexander Miller, who has promoted the need for a vacant home tax on his social media, and Kate Werneberg, who also appeared at the March 2nd Special Council meeting opposing amalgamation and the March 23rd meeting in support of the effort to maintain St. Catharines’ Safe Consumption and Treatment Site.
One issue surrounding Ward 4 - St. Patrick's, which encompasses downtown St. Catharines and most of the Ontario Street corridor, is likely to get much traction during the 2026 campaign.
The ward includes the former GM property, which has shown little progress toward rehabilitation over the current council term. With the vacant property being an eyesore and posing a variety of health and safety risks, the municipality only recently issued a property standards order after contending over the years that the owner had a valid demolition permit and that the municipality lacked the authority to clean up the property.
First-time candidate Grant Higginson is campaigning on the GM issue. He challenged Mayor Siscoe at a public town hall on the municipality’s inaction regarding the property and submitted a correspondence to Council questioning the mayor’s use of his “strong mayor powers” to single source a $250,000 contract for the Ontario Street secondary planning process, which may determine the future of the former GM lands and surrounding area. Higginson is promising property standards enforcement and “a decisive plan to address the long-standing decay at the old General Motors site on Ontario Street.”
Both of the ward’s incumbent councillors are campaigning for re-election. Caleb Ratzlaff is seeking a second term, while Robin McPherson, who was originally appointed in the last year of the 2018-2022 term and re-elected in 2022, has also filed her nomination paper. McPherson represented the Liberal party in the 2025 provincial race that Sal Sorrento also contested.
The other candidates are Noah Machek, a carpenter and chair of the Clean City Task Force, who finished fourth in the ward in the 2022 election; Austin Shynal; and Allen McKay, who has been an active member of the Property Taxpayers Alliance, often commenting in local media on what he views as the ineffectiveness of the current government structure in Niagara.
In Ward 5 - Grantham, both incumbents, who have served for many years, are looking to be re-elected. Dawn Dodge has represented the ward since 2001, except for the 2014 to 2018 term. Bill Phillips is seeking his sixth straight council term.
Challenging the long-time incumbents are Spencer Bellows-DeWolfe and Dunsin Sunday Fakorede. Mr. Bellows-DeWolfe, was the third-place finisher in Ward 4 - St. Patrick’s in the 2022 municipal election and currently serves on the Niagara Parks Commission. His mother, Sandie Bellows, represented the ward during the 2014-2018 term. Mr. Fakorede is a mechanical engineer and Secretary of the Nigerian Community and Professionals Forum of Canada (NCPFC).
In Ward 6 - Port Dalhousie, Bruce Williamson is seeking re-election. Williamson has represented the ward since 1995. Marty Mako, the other incumbent, has also filed. Mako won a by-election in the ward last year after the passing of Carlos Garcia, who was first elected in 2015. Also running in the ward is Constantina O'Reilly.
(Mayor & 8 at-large councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
Incumbent Mayor Jim Diodati filed his nomination paper on May 1st, the day nominations opened. Seeking his fifth straight mayoral term, Diodati made it clear that he wants to preside over the ribbon cutting when the South Niagara Hospital opens in Niagara Falls, slated for 2028.
Diodati has faced little opposition since he defeated incumbent mayor Ted Salci in 2010 and brushed aside long-time Niagara politician Kim Craitor in 2018. Despite his election success, he has been criticized for his support of municipal amalgamation, cozying up to the Premier in the last Provincial election, his council’s heavy-handed approach to Integrity Commissioner complaints, for calling police on peaceful protestors inside council chambers, and his “politainment” style.
The current challengers to Diodati’s possible fifth term are Kevin Martineau, a barber; Gary Baker, a retired mechanic, who twice ran unsuccessfully for Council; and Paul Manning, a former undercover officer, who wrote of his experiences in the book Ten Seventy Eight: A Tale of Mafia Power and Police Corruption. Manning’s platform includes eliminating the $1,000 filing fee for council member Code of Conduct complaints, which has been the source of critical comments from the Ontario Ombudsman.
Two-term councillor Lori Lococo also filed on the first day of nominations, seeking a third term as City Councillor. Lococo has often been a sole vote against Diodati and his other dutiful councillors on a variety of issues.
In addition to Lococo, incumbent Mona Patel is seeking her second term. Patel was a surprise victor in the 2022 municipal election, becoming the first candidate of colour to be elected in Niagara Falls, a sign of the changing demographics in the community. Also seeking a second term are Ruth-Ann Nieuwesteeg, who ran unsuccessfully last year for the Provincial Conservative Party to be the MPP for the local riding, and Tony Baldinelli, who is not the same Tony Baldinelli who represents Niagara Falls as the Conservative member of federal parliament.
With an at-large system, Niagara Falls has traditionally seen more than two dozen candidates contesting for the eight council seats.
Currently registered are Sheila Deluca, who sits on a number of the City’s citizen advisory committees; Brad Pine; Jitto Tom; Darlene Cane; Celia Taylor, who ran under the Green Party banner in last year’s provincial and federal elections; Lilian Lum Mbah; Dan Giancola, a former CFL placekicker; Brian “Winnie” Winrow; Joedy Burdett; and Dan Moody.
Mr. Burdett finished 20th out of 26 candidates in the 2022 election. He regularly comments on Council matters, sending in correspondence for inclusion on meeting agendas with the heading “Official Opposition Party to The City of Niagara Falls Council”. Burdett has struck a nerve with the current Council.
While not specifically naming him, Mr. Burdett’s persistent communications lead to a 2024 staff report entitled "Restriction of Certain Forms of Participation and Engagement in Council Meetings” that recommended staff exclude communications from agendas if frivolous, without factual or legal merit or abusive.
Mr. Moody, a retired police officer, came in 11th for council in the 2022 municipal election. Ahead of him in 9th and 10th place were Chris Dabrowski and Vince Kerrio, both of whom were appointed to Council this term due to the resignation of Wayne Thomson and passing of Wayne Campbell, respectively.
Neither Dabrowski or Kerrio have filed for this year’s election, nor have Victor Pietrangelo, who has been on Council since 1994, or Mike Strange, who was first elected in 2014.
Strange was acquitted earlier this year of domestic assault charges.
(Mayor & 12 ward councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
Despite a recommendation from City staff during the term, to cut council in half for 2026, Welland Council remains at 13 members, consisting of a mayor and six wards with two elected representatives per ward. The municipality conducted a ward boundary review that will be in place for the upcoming election and the following one in 2030. The boundary adjustments provide greater balance of the number of people in each ward, in keeping with population growth patterns in the community. Residents can find details about the new ward boundaries on the City’s website.
Welland’s mayoral contest is shaping up to be a competitive contest, partly due to the undecided status of current mayor Frank Campion who has held the seat since 2014.
At a standing committee hearing at the end of April on Bill 100, Campion revealed that he had not decided on whether to seek re-election for mayor, but if called upon to be the Regional Chair he would do it. Campion contended that he was not lobbying for the Regional Chair's position, but he seems to be keeping that option open. The PCs have yet to appoint a new regional chair following the resignation of previous chair Bob Gale.
Two-term Regional Councillor Pat Chiocchio, who is the past chair of the Niagara Police Services Board and co-chair of the Region’s Public Health & Social Services Standing Committee, has filed for mayor. Prior to being on Regional Council, Chiocchio was a Ward 4 councillor on Welland Council from 2003 to the 2018 election.
A candidate with previous mayoral experience is April Jeffs, though her experience was as mayor of the Township of Wainfleet from 2010 to 2018. After serving as mayor, Jeffs contested the Niagara Centre MPP seat in 2018 for the PCs, finishing second to Jeff Burch (NDP). The following year she finished second to Vance Badawey (Liberals) in Niagara Centre’s federal race. In 2022, Jeffs was appointed Chair of the Niagara Parks Commission by Premier Ford. She has also been a member of the Welland Hospital Task Force.
Current two-term councillor from Ward 5, Graham Speck is also seeking the mayor’s chair. Like Jeffs, Speck represented the Conservative Party in Niagara Centre also finishing second to Badawey in the 2021 federal election.
Rounding out the candidates for mayor of Welland are Gary Graziani, a municipal building official and Knights of Columbus member; Brandon Simon, who addressed Welland Council at their meeting on governance review, opposed to the reduction of political representation; David Clow, who ran for mayor in 2018, but was precluded from running again for municipal office until this election for failing to file the requisite financial form; and Natashia Bergen, who represented the Green Party in the Welland ridings in both the 2025 federal and provincial elections.
As for the ward races, depending on the decision of the incumbents, the Ward 1 contest could be a repeat of the 2022 election.
Adam Moote and Mary Ann Grimaldi are the current sitting councillors, though neither have filed yet for October’s election. Bradley Ulch and Jessica LaHay, who came in third and fourth in 2022 to Moote and Grimaldi, have filed to run again. Both Ulch and LaHay have community involvement, with the former part of the team at the Hope Centre, Welland’s Food Bank, and the latter a past president of Welland’s Rose Festival.
Ward 2 incumbent Leo Van Vliet is seeking reelection. He has been on Welland Council for 25 years. Van Vliet had introduced the motion earlier in the current for staff to look at options to reduce the Council’s size.
Other registered candidates in Ward 2 are Aldo Parrotta, founder and director of Art Gallery of Welland and a member of the municipality’s Arts and Culture Committee; Carolyn Fast, who chairs the City’s Green Advisory Committee; and Vince DiMauro. The other incumbent in the ward, David McLeod, has not filed.
In Ward 3, first term incumbent Sharmila Setaram has filed to run again, as has incumbent John Chiocchio, who was first elected to Council in 2014.
Perennial candidate and mental health activist, Steve Soos has filed to run in the ward after originally filing for the English Public School Board. In 2018, Soos, similarly, first filed to run in Ward 4 before changing to run for mayor. Both he and current mayoral candidate David Clow received approximately 11 percent of the vote in that election to Frank Campion’s 78 percent.
Also running in the ward is John Braimoh.
Current Ward 4 Councillor Bryan Green is seeking a second term. He is joined in the ward race by Safdar Ali, Tissa Ratnayake and Terry Zorgel. Incumbent Tony DiMarco, who has been the subject of numerous Integrity Commissioner complaints, has not declared his intention to run.
With Graham Speck running for mayor, a vacancy is available in Ward 5. Luca Mele, a New Blue candidate in Thornhill in last year’s provincial election has filed. Mele also appeared before Council in late March regarding governance review. Claudette Richard, who has represented the ward since 2018, has filed to run again.
In Ward 6, both incumbents have filed their nomination papers. Bonnie Fokkens is seeking a fourth term in office while Jamie Lee is attempting to return for a second term. Lee won the seat in 2022 by a single vote over then incumbent, Jim Larouche.
Also running in Ward 6 is Sean Vout.
(Mayor & 6 ward councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
Incumbent Wayne Redekop, who was first elected mayor of Fort Erie in 1997 and has served for more than 20 years during his two stints as mayor, is seeking re-election. Redekop has often taken the lead at Regional Council against former Chair Gale’s amalgamation efforts and in opposition to Bill 100. He’s being challenged by the current two-term Regional Councillor representing Fort Erie, Tom Insinna, a retired RCMP officer, who has regularly attempted to find savings in the Niagara Regional Police budget.
Also running for mayor is Juan Liu.
All current ward councillors have filed to run again. Currently, George McDermott (Ward 1), who is seeking a fourth term, Nick Dubanow (Ward 2) who is seeking a third term and Ann-Marie Noyes, who has represented Ward 6 from 2000 to 2010 and, again, since 2018, are running unopposed.
In Ward 3, one-term councillor Darren Flagg has filed to run again. Jennifer Priestley, a local paralegal, who was runner up in Ward 4 in the 2022 election, has filed to run in Ward 3.
Ward 4 incumbent Joan Christensen is seeking a second term. Also running in the Ward 4 are Daniel Turner, a member of the Fort Erie Library Board and Matt Paul, a financial services professional and organizer of live human chess event fundraisers.
Tom Lewis is seeking a third, non-consecutive term representing Ward 5 in the Crystal Beach area of the municipality. Candidate Scott Boumeester is the President of Advancing Crystal Beach, a not-for-profit grass roots organization promoting the area. Also running in the ward are a couple of youthful candidates, Thomas Mete, a former chair of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee and Kassandra Ryerson, whose campaign website has the tagline “Protecting Our Shore. Preserving Our Future”.
(Mayor & 8 ward councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
The Grimsby Mayor’s race has already generated interest among high profile candidates in the municipality. Current mayor, Jeff Jordan is seeking a third term. He was also a Ward 4 councillor from 1997 to 2006.
Over the past term, Jordan has often butted heads with first-term Ward 3 councillor, Veronica Charrois. The councillor made it known well before the opening of nominations on May 1 that she would be challenging Jordan for the mayor’s seat and made good on the promise.
Jordan and Charrois are joined in the race by current Grimsby Regional Councillor, Michelle Seaborn. With the elimination of directly elected Regional Councillors, Seaborn is looking to return to Grimsby Council where she served for two terms (2010-2018).
Rounding out the current candidates for mayor is Simon Duong, the current Chair of Grimsby’s Downtown Business Improvement Association, who owns Teddy’s Sports Bar and the Town’s Junior C hockey team, the Peach Kings.
In Ward 1, Margot Smeenk, a retired civil engineer in traffic and transportation, has filed to run. Smeenk is a citizen member of Grimsby’s Public Works committee and her election website is cleverly titled “Think Smeenk”. The other registered candidate is George Bodnar, who is a member of the Grimsby Green Advisory Committee. Ward 1 incumbent Reg Freake is running again, but has filed to run in Ward 4. The other incumbent, Delight Davoli, has not filed to date.
In Ward 2, incumbent Lianne Vardy has filed for a third term and incumbent Don Howe has four non-consecutive terms on Grimsby council.
A couple of former councillors are attempting to make their return. Dave Sharpe, served between 2018 and 2022, but received only 612 votes in 2022, well below the 1,700+ votes that were required to get elected. During the term he was found in breach of the municipality’s Code of Conduct for social media posts he made while attending the Ottawa freedom convoy during the COVID-19 pandemic. John Dunstall, a former two term councillor, is seeking to return to council after failing to unseat Jeff Jordan, in the 2022 mayoral election, when he received 19 percent of the vote. Also filing to run in Ward 2 is Ben Purkiss, owner of creative agency Pendulum. Purkiss sits on Grimsby’s Economic Development Advisory Committee and his website indicates that he has been involved with the riding association of Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff.
In Ward 4, Wayne Fertich is also looking to return to council. He served on council from 1997 to 2010 and was the Town’s regional councillor from 2018 to 2022. He lost his seat in the last election to Seaborn by less than 300 votes.
Current incumbent Nick DiFlavio has filed to run again. He has nearly 20 years of experience on council.
The other ward incumbent, Jacob Baradziej, has not filed.
There are currently no candidates registered for Ward 3. Incumbent Charrois is running for Mayor and the other incumbent, Jennifer Korstanje, who ran for the Liberals in the 2025 federal election, has yet to file.
(Mayor & 6 ward councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
The major news surrounding the Lincoln municipal election is that Mayor Sandra Easton will not be seeking re-election. In a statement at the end of March, Easton said, “This decision is grounded in where I am in my journey of public service and in the goals we have achieved together over the past 12 years and throughout my 18 years in elected public service. I believe this is the right time to create space for renewed energy and leadership, particularly as we continue to navigate the need for government reform and economic stability across Niagara.”
Easton’s announcement has seen two current council members stepping up to replace her. Greg Reimer, two-term Ward 4 councillor, was the first to file for mayor. His current colleague, two-term Ward 1 councillor, Adam Russell joined the race in June.
Also running for mayor is Cheryl Keddy-Scott, a former school board trustee and current CEO of Village of Hope, Lincoln’s food bank/thrift store.
The other development impacting the Lincoln 2026 municipal race is the change in the Town’s electoral map and number of representatives. Last year, Town council agreed to revamp Lincoln’s municipal electoral map, reducing the number of wards from four to three and the number of councillors (including the mayor) from nine to seven.
Five of the current incumbent members have filed to return: Dianne Rintjema (Ward 1), Tony G. Brunet (Ward 2), John D. Pachereva (Ward 2) Mike Mikolic (Ward 3) and Lynn Timmers (Ward 3). Like Reimer, Timmers represented the former Ward 4.
Three non-incumbents have filed to run in Ward 1: Canaan El-Hassan, Carlo Filice and Justin Zegers, who ran in the 2018 election, and Shawn Stryker has filed to run in Ward 3.
Other than retiring Mayor Easton, the only current councillor who has not filed for re-election is Ward 3 councillor Anna Murre.
(Mayor & 6 at-large councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
Like Lincon, there will not be an incumbent mayor contesting the Head of Council position in 2026 in Thorold. Just days prior to nominations opening, two-term Mayor Terry Ugalini announced he would not be seeking re-election. In a statement, Ugalini touted accomplishments including having “successfully fought off amalgamation once again.”
With the mayor’s chair vacant, two high profile candidates have already filed to succeed Ugalini.
Tim Whalen has served as Thorold’s representative on Regional Council for the last two terms. Prior to that, he was on Thorold City Council for 15 years. Henry D’Angela was Whalen’s predecessor as Thorold’s Regional representative from 2010-2018. He was Thorold’s mayor from 2006-2010 and has served two terms as Thorold council member, most recently this past term (2022-2026).
Mike De Divitiis, a current one-term city councillor, whose family has long-standing business interests in the City’s downtown, originally filed to run for mayor as well. He subsequently withdrew his nomination and is seeking re-election as a council member.
There are currently 18 candidates for the now six positions available on Thorold Council. Incumbents De Divitiis, Nella (D'Epiro) Dekker, Tim O'Hare, Ken Sentance, Carmen DeRose and David Jim Handley have filed. They are joined by Ashraf Hindi, Chantal McCollum, Brandon Mckenney-Somerville, Clayton Pye, Ken Steeve, James Symons, Rae Whitty, Asad Mahmood, Kieran Daniels, Chris Richards, Kamal Fodil, and Gurinder Kaur.
The only incumbent yet to fill is Anthony Longo.
Ms. McCollum was the NDP candidate in the riding for last year’s federal election. Mr. Symons ran for Council in 2022, finishing sixteenth out of nineteen candidates.
Mr. Daniels is a current member of the City’s Committee of Adjustment and Parks, Trails & Recreation Advisory Committee.
Former councillor Handley finished eighth in the 2022 election, winning the final council seat by a mere three votes ahead of Victoria Wilson. Handley, who has been the subject of three Code of Conduct violations, was also the most vocal member opposed to the City of Thorold participating in the free federal program, the Partners for Climate Protection (PCP), that guides municipalities on how to reduce their climate-warming emissions.
(Mayor & 6 ward councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
Bill Steele will be seeking his third term as mayor of Port Colborne.
In 2022, the only person to contest Steele was his brother Charles. Registered to run against him this year is Bea Kenny, who sat on Port Colborne Council from 1994 to 2018 before stepping away from public office. Last year, Steele was the PC candidate in the Niagara Centre riding during last year’s provincial election, finishing second to incumbent Jeff Burch (NDP).
In 2025, Port Colborne Council decided not to act on the results of a ward review that recommended the City’s four wards be reduced to three and the number of councillors cut from eight to six.
With the discussion regarding possible amalgamations in the first quarter of this year, in March, Council reconsidered and approved the 2025 proposal. Because the decision was during an election year, the Province had to pass a regulation approving the ward and council composition changes, which occurred on May 22nd.
Two-term incumbent, Mark Bagu is seeking re-election in Ward 1. Due to the ward boundary changes, current Ward 2 councillor, Tim Hoyle, is now running for one of the two seats in Ward 1 this election. He is seeking a second term.
Six-term Ward 4 representative, and former one-term mayor, Ron Bodnar is running in Ward 2. The other current Ward 4 representative, Monique Aquilina, is also seeking a seat in Ward 2 for what would be her second term on council.
After a term out of municipal politics, former City and Regional councillor for Port Colborne, Barbara Butters has also filed to run in Ward 2.
In Ward 3, Gary Bruno is seeking a third straight term. He also served on Council from 1993 to 2010. First-time candidates in Ward 3 are Amanda Emery, who previously worked in the municipality’s library and museum, and Adam Robins.
Incumbents who have not filed are Dave Elliot, Frank Danch and Eric Beauregard. The latter had the distinction of winning his seat in 2022 by lot—effectively a random draw—when he and Angie Desmarais remained tied after a judicial recount.
(Lord Mayor & 6 at-large councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
Current Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa took to social media shortly before the opening of nominations to indicate that he was “seriously weighing his options” and would decide after “watching and looking for who comes forward for Council nominations and what qualities they bring to the table to benefit our community.” He has yet to officially register.
A sign that Zalepa may not be running is the recent filing by two-term councillor and 2023 Grape King, Erwin Wiens for the Lord Mayor’s position. Zalepa and Wiens have appeared to be allies over the council term.
Wiens, who currently carries the ceremonial title of Deputy Lord Mayor, based on receiving the greatest number
of votes in the 2022 council member race, received criticism by not remaining neutral during the 2025 provincial election. Wiens endorsed Doug Ford for
Premier at a campaign event he emceed at the Niagara District Airport. Despite that support, Wiens has been a vocal opponent of any amalgamation of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Following the trend of a number of her colleagues, Niagara-on-the-Lake’s current representative on Regional Council, Andrea Kaiser, has also filed to run for the position of Lord Mayor. Kaiser served on local council from 2003 to 2014.
Representing the Liberal party, she came second to Tony Baldinelli (Conservative) in three consecutive federal contests in the local riding in 2019, 2021 and 2025. Also, registered for Lord Mayor is Vaughan Goettler, who ran for the position in 2022 and came in third.
Zalepa’s wait and see approach seems to have been contagious. Only six candidates have filed for council positions as of August 10.
Longtime local politician Gary Burroughs, who has served as Lord Mayor and Regional Chair, and returned to Niagara-on-the-Lake Council in 2022, is seeking another term on Town Council.
Sandra O’Connor, who finished ninth in the 2018 election, only to be appointed two years later to fill the council vacancy left by the resignation of Stuart McCormack, is seeking re-election. O’Connor appeared at the provincial Standing Committee hearings voicing her opposition to Bill 100.
Maria Mavridis is seeking a second council term.
Also, hoping to return to council is Andrew Niven.
A Director of Marketing for Konzelmann Estate Winery and past Chair of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Chamber of Commerce, Niven ran in the 2018 election finishing 11th.
Also filing nominations are Weston Miller, a local realtor and Steve McGuinness, founder of the community group Residents 4 A Better NOTL.
Like Lincoln, Thorold and Port Colborne, the 2026 election will see the number of councillors reduced from eight to six.
(Mayor & 6 ward councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
A month after nominations opened, all incumbents on Pelham Council this term had registered to run in the 2026 election.
Marvin Junkin will be seeking his third straight term as mayor.
In Ward 2, John Wink is eyeing a third term, and Brian Eckhart, a second term. Similarly in Ward 3, Bob Hildebrandt is campaigning for a third term and Shellee Niznik is seeking a second.
The current Ward 1 councillors, Kevin Ker and Bryce Brunarski, are seeking to return to council.
Ker was elected in 2022. Brunarski was appointed in 2025 to fill the vacancy left when council appointed then sitting Ward 1 councillor, Wayne Olson to be Pelham’s representative at Regional Council after Diana Huson resigned. With the elimination of directly elected Regional representatives, Olson is seeking to return to Pelham council. He was first elected to the Ward 1 seat in a by-election in 2020. Also, running in Ward 1 is Kevin Grebe.
It appeared for a time that Junkin would run unopposed for the mayor’s position, but in early August Frank Adamson, who challenged Junkin in 2022 receiving 42 percent of the vote, filed to run again.
Other non-incumbents that have filed, so far are Kevin Coyle, a local businessperson, who has served as Vice-President with the local Kinsman, is running in Ward 3; Barbara-Ann “Barb” Rybiak, who ran in 2018, has filed again for Ward 2, as has Thomas “Tom” Svob, who returned to the Fonthill area of the municipality eleven years ago after a career in finance.
With more than two candidates in each ward, the 2026 election in Pelham will differ from 2022 when Ward 1 and Ward 3 saw acclimations.
(Mayor & 6 ward councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
At the end of May, all but one member of West Lincoln’s current council had filed nominations seeking re-election.
Cheryl Ganann is seeking a second term as mayor. She was first elected as a councillor in a by-election in 2016 and re-elected to Council in 2018. In Ward 1, Mike Rehner is seeking a sixth straight term, while Jason Trombetta is eyeing his fourth.
Joann Chechalk has been a Ward 2 representative over three of the last four terms. The exception being the 2018-2022 term when she had run unsuccessfully for mayor.
In Ward 3, William Reilly will look to serve a third straight term. Greg Maychak is seeking re-election after winning in a by-election in 2024.
Current Ward 2 councillor, Shelley Bradaric has yet to file nomination papers.
The municipality’s current Regional Councillor, Albert Witteveen is challenging councillors Rehner and Trombetta in Ward 1. Witteveen, who currently chairs the Region’s Public Works standing committee, served on West Lincoln Council from 2000 to 2006.
(Mayor & 4 at-large councillors to be elected)
The full list of registered candidates can be found here.
Brian Grant, the current mayor of the Township of Wainfleet, has filed for re-election. In 2022, he defeated incumbent Kevin Gibson by twelve votes. He currently stands unopposed.
Incumbents John MacLellan and Sherri Van Vliet are seeking their third consecutive terms. Incumbents Terry Gilmore and Joan Anderson have yet to file.
First-time candidates are local realtor Joe Gonzalez, who also does pizza reviews on social media; Rebecca Anderson; Paul Wainwright, a local musician; and Dan Bath, a director of the Wainfleet Agricultural Society.
Links to the election pages of all 12 of Niagara’s municipalities can be accessed through the Region’s Niagara Votes 2026 page found here.
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