5 Hamilton things to watch in the Ontario election

The provincial election campaign officially begins Wednesday with the issuing of the writs. And with police investigations, light rail transit and a Hamiltonian party leader, it'll be an interesting race in Hamilton.

Here's a list of five things to watch for in the June 7 election.

AndreaHorwath'sperformance

For the last twoelections, there's been a chance Ontario would elect a premier from Hamilton. But Andrea Horwathseems to bemaking a lot of waves this time.

Horwath, a former Hamilton city councillor and Hamilton Centre MPPsince 2004, is in her ninth year leading the Ontario NDP. With scandals plaguing both parties, Horwath is trying to convince Ontarians to give her party a second chance the last was 25 years ago to lead the province.

The latest poll results show the NDPin second place,barely ahead of the Liberals. And it's the only party gaining support. Commentators also said Horwath performed strongly in the first televised leaders debate Monday.

"She will now be the centre of interest," saidGeneviveTellier, a political studies professor at the University of Ottawa. "Even if you didn't think you wanted to vote for her, you're more likely to pay more attention to her now."

This election also marks Horwath's ninth year as party leader, leadingto some speculationabout howher performance will influence her future at the helm of the party. Is it win or out for Horwath?

Which city councillor will move on?

Regardless of the seat count of the June election, there's a good chance a Hamilton city councillor will get elected, and a brand new person will take her place in the fall.

Judi Partridge, the Ward 15 councillor representing Waterdown and Flamborough, is running for the Liberals in Flamborough-Glanbrook. Donna Skelly, Ward 7 councillor on the central Mountain, is taking her third run for the PC party. There appears to be no NDP candidate for the riding yet.

Both have said they'll run for council again in October if they're not elected provincially. But which one is a question mark.

The case of the missing candidates

It's not unusual for parties to still be scrambling to fill candidate spots hours before the writs are issued. But it is unusual that it's the Liberals.

Damin Starr became the Hamilton Mountain Liberal candidate on Tuesday, the day parliament was dissolved. Jennifer Stebbing, a local lawyer who ran in Flamborough-Glanbrookin the last federal election, was a last-minute addition to Hamilton East-Stoney Creek.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Niagara West didn't have a Liberal candidate. The party told CBC News that it's excited about its "ever-growing team" and will have more to say about its Hamilton candidates.

CBCanalyst Robert Fisher alluded to the PC lead in the polls as a possible reason.

"People in politics, they look at the polls and they can believe or disbelieve them, but there's a certain reality there," he said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the NDPalso didn't have a candidate in Flamborough-Glanbrook.

Police investigation and human rights complaints

It's faded into the background somewhat, but there's still a police investigation into last year's Ontario PC nomination meeting inHamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas. And police aren't saying when that will wrap.

Last May, four candidates Ben Levitt, Vikram Singh, Jeff Peller and JobsonEasow ran for the PC nomination. Levitt won, but Singh and Peller alleged that party insiders rigged the vote.

Singh and Peller dropped their court challenges, but the case caught the interest of Hamilton Police Service, which is still investigating alongside a federal agency.

Levitt, 26, says his own candidacy has since been vindicated. He was re-nominated last month, vying for the spot against Vincent Samuel. (Singh wanted to run but the party rejected him.)

Both this race and one in Flamborough-Glanbrook appeared to alienate some party supporters, at least for a time. How much it matters at the ballot box will be difficult to tell. Levitt is running against Liberal incumbent Ted McMeekin, Sandy Shaw from the NDPand long-time Green Party candidate Peter Ormond.

But the local PC party isn't the only one that's made the wrong kind of headlines.

Two staffers in the office oftheNDP's Monique Taylor have filed complaints allegingTaylor tried to force one to file a sexual harassment complaint against another. A staffer for Paul Miller allegesMiller discriminated against him (and others) for his family status, and forced constituency staff to campaign for him during office hours.

And, as always, light rail transit

For every election since 2007, Hamilton's light rail transit (LRT) system has been in the balance. And that continues to be the case for this one.

In 2015, then-premier Kathleen Wynneannounced $1 billion for Metrolinx to build LRT in Hamilton, and Metrolinx and the city have been working on it since. Metrolinx has bought properties for it and short-listed potential builders. The agency has spent or committed about $100 million so far.

Ontario PC leader Doug Ford has said Hamilton can have$1 billion for infrastructure, even if it doesn't accept LRT. "I'll leave it to others to determine how likely (that)is," Mayor Fred Eisenberger has said. The Liberals say Hamilton has been asking for LRT, and has received LRT.

Ford "doesn't understand accrual accounting," McMeekin has said. The NDP are pro LRT. But others say some Hamilton city councillorsare willing to flip their votes if they think the city will get the money anyway.

Who's running, and where

Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas

• Ben Levitt, PC.
• Ted McMeekin, Liberal. (incumbent)
• Peter Ormond, Green.
• Sandy Shaw, NDP.

Hamilton Centre

• Dionne Duncan, PC.
• Andrea Horwath, NDP. (incumbent)
• Jason Lopez, Green.
• Deirdre Pike, Liberal.

Hamilton Mountain

• Esther Pauls, PC.
• Damin Starr, Liberal.
• Monique Taylor, NDP. (incumbent)
• David Urquhart, Green.

Hamilton East-Stoney Creek

• Akash Grewal, PC.
• Paul Miller, NDP. (incumbent)
• Brian Munroe, Green.
• Jennifer Stebbing, Liberal.

Flamborough-Glanbrook

(Note: This is a new riding with no incumbent. The area was previously represented by Liberal Ted McMeekin.)

• Janet Errygers, Green.
• Judi Partridge, Liberal.
• Donna Skelly, PC.
• NDP: No nominee yet.

Burlington

• Andrew Drummond, NDP.
• Vince Fiorito, Green.
• Jane McKenna, PC.
• Eleanor McMahon, Liberal. (incumbent)

Brant-Brantford

(The area has been represented by Liberal Dave Levac, who isn't running again.)

• Will Bouma, PC.
• Alex Felsky, NDP.
• Ruby Toor, Liberal.
• Green: No nominee yet.

Niagara West

• Curtis Fric, NDP.
• Sam Oosterhoff, PC. (incumbent)
• Jessica Tillmanns, Green.
• Liberal: No nominee yet.

Haldimand-Norfolk

• Toby Barrett, PC. (incumbent)
• Danielle Du Sablon, NDP.
• Anne Faulkner, Green.
• Dan Matten, Liberal.