Meet the 30 Candidates Vying for Burlington's Seven Council Seats

Nomination period is over, and Burlington's municipal election picture is now coming into focus. Thirty candidates have thrown their hats into the ring across the city's six wards and the mayoral race — all competing for just seven seats on City Council this October. The race for Mayor has turned into a five-way contest. Incumbent Marianne Meed Ward is seeking another term, but she'll face challengers from within Council itself: Ward 2 councillor Lisa Kearns and Ward 3 councillor Rory Nisan are both making the jump to the mayoral race. Kobaltek director of sales Keith Demoe and former paramedic and businessman Yugalkeesor Ramdhonee round out the field. With Kearns vacating Ward 2 and Nisan stepping away from Ward 3, both downtown and mid-city ridings are guaranteed to send a new face to Council. Ward 2 sees Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr, Burlington Helping Burlington co-founder Sean Campbell, lawyer Masha Brar, and LaserSTOP founder Jeremy Gaetan all competing for the open seat. Ward 3 has drawn a crowd of five: Kyle Hutton, Tony Brecknock, Katy Moore, former councillor Mark Carr (making his return after more than 25 years away), and Lisa Cooper, who ran for the same seat in 2010 and 2014. In Ward 1, incumbent Kelvin Galbraith will face off against Accessibility Advisory Committee member Cheryl Hurst, HDSB teacher Robert Radway, and 2022 mayoral candidate James Kerr. Ward 4 is a two-candidate race following incumbent Shawna Stolte's decision not to seek re-election — Burlington Dads co-founder Chris Carter (who has Stolte's public backing) and former journalist and PACE Canada marketing officer Olivia Duke are the two names on the ballot. Ward 5 incumbent Paul Sharman is back but will face healthcare consultant Kristy Dickinson, lawyer Alex Don, and financial planner Brian Machan. Up in Ward 6, incumbent Angelo Bentivegna is running again, but he'll need to hold off six challengers: HDSB teacher Frank Domenic, Headon Forest resident Chris Bouchard, entrepreneur and advocate Osob Adus, Bianca Bielski, Rowan Fraser, and Edmond Jodhi. One note worth flagging: while the candidate registration deadline has passed, the formal certification process closed Monday, August 24 at 4 p.m., so the final confirmed list could look slightly different. Burlington voters head to the polls this October.