Municipal Elections
October 24, 2022
About Halton Region Votes
The provincial elections in June 2022 saw historically low turnouts. There were many reasons – COVID was a big one. But not the only one. Many voters expressed dissatisfaction with politics and politicians in general, and have disengaged from the process. Some felt the result was a done deal, so didn't bother to turn up at their polling station.
But we shouldn't be complacent. Voting is both a right and privilege we cannot ignore. If you believe in the system, you should participate. If you don’t believe in the system, you should work to improve it.
Complacency and disengagement will not bring us together. They will not move us forward.
My grandmother grew up on a farm in Oakville. She was born the same year the Titanic sank. She lived through two World Wars, the moon landing, the invention of television, the Cold War, and the dawn of the computer age. She had two strong marriages. She raised four children on a mechanic's salary. During her lifetime, she voted in every election she could. At each election, she spoke to the importance of voting, and declared her intention to cast her ballot. She was 106 when she passed away in May, 2018, a few weeks before the Ontario Provincial Elections. She was fully intended on voting..
Halton Region Votes was conceived on a sunny day on Kerr Street in Oakville. I was walking down to the local cheese shop when I ran into Ann Mulvale. Ann had been Mayor of Oakville when I worked on the Oakville Waterfront Festival. Though we rarely bumped into each other over the years, we had remained good friends.
We chatted about a lot of things. Including the upcoming municipal elections. If voter turnout was so low for the provincial elections, I noted, what could we expect in the October 24 elections?
If you know Ann Mulvale, you know one thing – Ann is not complacent. In fact, I’m not sure complacency is in her dictionary. Neither is “inaction”. Ann is also almost impossible to say no to. If she believes something needs to be done, she pulls people together to do it. Right then and there, Halton Region Votes was born.
Ann engaged me to build a website and create a communications plan. She then reached out to Mary Cardamone, a local realtor and strong community supporter. Ann had worked with Mary on many initiatives, most recently the ‘Women's Gathering’ an annual interfaith assembly that brings together women of all or no religious beliefs, to focus and share on timely topics like the ‘End of Life Faith Traditions and Medically Assisted Dying’. Mary jumped at the opportunity to join the Halton Region Votes initiative.
The rest, as they say, is history. We pulled together a website and sent out a media release. We asked some friends to help and they provided their testimonials. We have a lot more ideas to promote the site that you’ll see roll out over the next few months.
GET INVOLVED - RUN, ENGAGE, VOTE
Halton Region Votes.org
The goal of this site is to be a hub of information for Halton Elections.
Our aim is to be non-partisan, fact-based, and enlightening. To encourage participation in the 2022 Municipal Elections and provide easy-to-access candidate information to voters. To be a reliable and trusted “go-to” source for Halton Municipal Election information.
Disclosure: Carrie Janisse received a small stipend for the initial set up of the haltonregionvotes.org website. Ongoing site administration and participation in the initiative is on a volunteer basis.
How can YOU help?
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VOTE in the Municipal Elections on October 24.
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Consider running in the municipal elections.
The deadline to register is 2 p.m. on August 19. -
Add your voice* – let us know why you intend to vote on October 24.
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Encourage others to vote this fall.
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Share this site in your social feeds.
*comments will be reviewed before posting to the website. As a non-partisan site, we do not allow candidate endorsements. Halton Region Votes will review comments for abusive or derogatory language or partisan statements prior to allowing any comments to appear on the site.
About Our Sponsor Mary Cardamone
Mary and her family have been Oakville residents since 1979. Loving her community and having the desire to help maintain & improve the quality of life within Oakville for all, Mary has dedicated her time & energy to various organizations & charities while continuing to be ranked as a Top Producing Real Estate Sales Representative for Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd. Mary achieved her Lifetime Chairman’s Club Award in 2012. Mary & her son Paolo are business partners & continue to be most successful as The Cardamone Group with Royal Lepage.
For 43 years, Mary has worked diligently volunteering in Oakville from Past Chair of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Board of the Oakville Economic Development Alliance, Director on the Board of the Twin Oaks Credit Union (now Momentum), Past President of the Rotary Club of Oakville West, Past Campaign Chair of the Oakville United Way and past Board Member. Mary was awarded the Lloyd Duncan Award from the Oakville United Way for her outstanding Volunteerism. Mary is currently on the Board of the United Way of Halton Hamilton, and a member of the May Court Club of Oakville.
Mary Cardamone
The Cardamone Group
Halton Region Votes General Manager, Carrie Janisse
Born and raised in Oakville, Carrie remembers riding her bike to downtown Oakville to purchase pens and paper at the P&L Stationery store. Obviously her love of communications and writing showed up at an early age!
Carrie attended St. Vincent's primary school then moved on to Oakville Trafalgar High School (following in her mother and grandmother's footsteps). After gaining her Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University, Carrie moved back to Oakville where she got her first "real" job at the Oakville Waterfront Festival. Carrie's volunteer experience includes the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, Oakville Heritage Trust, Empty Bowls, Relay for Life, and the Burlington Ladies' Slo-Pitch Association.