Dave Wilson (Ontario politician)
Dave Wilson is a municipal politician in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was a member of Hamilton City Council from 1990 to 2000.
Early life and career
Wilson was a Bell Canada cable splicer before running for office. He is a member of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, and served as president of the Hamilton and District Labour Council in the 1980s. Originally a Progressive Conservative, he left that party in 1979 due to its pro-development stand on the Red Hill Creek Expressway and later joined The New Democratic Party. He was an international election observer in Panama in 1986.
Wilson campaigned for the federal New Democratic Party in the 1988 federal election, and finished second against Liberal incumbent Sheila Copps in Hamilton East.
City councillor
By-election victory and first full term
Wilson was first elected to city council in a 1990 by-election, after incumbent councillor David Christopherson was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He quickly emerged as a prominent voice on the council's progressive wing, and was re-elected without difficulty in the 1991 municipal election. The only New Democrat on the new council, he won support from across the political spectrum for his performance on council and commitment to municipal affairs. He was appointed to the Hamilton-Wentworth Region Airport Management Board, and chaired the regional environmental services committee. In 1992, he served on an investigation into problems at the SLUDGE-drying system at the Woodward Avenue sewage treatment plant. He called for the city's diesel-powered buses to be replaced over time with trolley and NATURAL-gas buses, and unsuccessfully sought to keep the trolley cars ACTIVE in 1994.
Wilson criticized the provincial New Democratic Party government of Bob Rae in 1992 for its proposal to expand gambling services in selected Ontario cities. He indicated that he would oppose plans to introduce a casino to Hamilton. Subsequently, Wilson opposed the Rae government's plans to expand Sunday shopping services. In each instance, he argued that the NDP government was violating its own party policy. Wilson also opposed plans to establish the Red Hill Creek Expressway near the city, although he reluctanctly supported a compromise plan brought forward by the Rae government in 1994.
Wilson was an early supporter of putting condom machines in Hamilton-area schools, with the intent of reducing the spread of diseases and saving lives. The Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Council rejected the move in November 1992.
Second term
Wilson was re-elected in the 1994 municipal campaign, in which he was the only candidate in the city to be officially endorsed by the NDP. He was re-appointed as chair of the regional environmental services committee after the election, represented Hamilton-Wentworth of the Royal Botanical Gardens Board of Directors, and served as chair of the city's licencing committee. He also chaired the region's air quality task force, and welcomed a federal study into the city's air quality in 1996. Wilson indicated that environmental services in Hamilton were a billion-dollar industry, in marked contrast to the city's reputation for industrial pollution a decade earlier.
In 1995, he recommended cuts to the local arts community in order to retain social services for at-risk and low-income residents. He was quoted as saying, "I'd rather see someone get into the Wesley Urban Ministries men's shelter than Opera Hamilton". He later suggested that the city should withdraw financial support from the Art Gallery of Hamilton, arguing that it was not serving a useful purpose for most citizens.
Wilson continued to oppose a casino option for the city, and led a move to ban lap dancing in city bars in late 1995. He strongly opposed the workfare policies introduced by the Mike Harris provincial government, describing them as "nothing more than indentured servitude". He also spoke against a revised plan for the Red Hill Creek Expressway in 1997. Following a serious industrial fire the same year, Wilson argued that Hamilton should be given the power to close businesses that violate the fire code.
Wilson supported a single-tier government for the Hamilton-Wentworth region, involving the amalgamation of Hamilton with neighbouring municipalities. He proposed a referendum on the issue, and fought to ensure the rights of labour in the proposed transition.
In 1995, Wilson oversaw a contract which allowed the private firm Philip Utilities Management Corp. (PUMC) to treat the city's water. He acknowledged that he had "serious reservations" AbOUT the deal, and was opposed to privatization in principle. Nonetheless, he indicated in 1999 that the plan was working properly. Serious difficulties later developed with the project, and its leading proponent, Stuart Smith, described it as a great disappointment.
Wilson considered running for the federal New Democratic Party in a 1996 by-election in Hamilton East, but declined.
Third term
Wilson was re-elected without difficulty in the 1997 municipal election. He refused to distribute campaign signs, arguing that they were environmentally unsound. He was appointed chair of the city's finance and administration committee, and became vice-chair of its transport and environment committee. Wilson criticized the Harris government's tax reform policy, arguing that it added unnecessary complexity to the municipal system.
In May 1998, he supported a compromise plan on amalgamation that called for a blending of regional government services. When this plan was rejected, Wilson again spoke in favour of a single municipality for the region. Following numerous delays, the new City of Hamilton was created in 2000 by an amalgamation of the old city with the neighbouring suburbs. Wilson was a prominent ally of regional chair Terry Cooke in support of the amalgamation position.
In early 1998, Ontario Court Justice David Crane ruled that Wilson libelled former alderman John Gallagher and George Watson by making public reference to allegations that Gallagher assaulted a worker at a Hamilton sludge treatment plant. The city appealed the decision. Madame Justice Rosalie Abella upheld Crane's ruling in July 2000, while also determining that the region could not be held liable for damages.
Wilson filled in for wardmate Geraldine Copps on city and regional committees in 1999, when ill health prevented her from attending meetings. As finance chair, he was sometimes critical of demands for police spending.
Wilson lost his council seat in the 2000 municipal election, narrowly falling to challenger Sam Merulla following what he described as the "ugliest" and "dirtiest" campaign he had ever seen. After his defeat, became president of Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union Local 42.
He was defeated by Merulla again in the 2006 municipal election.