Raise the Hammer

Dear Mayor and Councilors,

Last year, after losing my job and home in the US, my family sought refuge in Hamilton where my wife grew up. It was a tumultuous time for my family, but our despair quickly dissipated when I unexpectedly and immediately fell in love with this city. My eyes were opened when I discovered this city's physical beauty, when I started to meet so many of the great people that tirelessly toil to make this city better and when I discovered its myriad real and intangible assets. All these things belie this city's hardscrabble reputation and I was happy to be let in on the secret.

I was confident that, reaching a critical mass of talented people and invigorating ideas, the city was on a path to progressive renewal and reinvention with LRT and a Pan Am Stadium in the West Harbor doing much to help it reach its limitless potential. It took me little time to decide that Hamilton was where I wanted to raise my family, build a career and reputation, and invest my time and money. This community may still have a way to go before it becomes the best place in Canada to raise a child, but now that I have a new job in Hamilton's emerging tech sector and an ideal quality of life residing in one of Hamilton's many beautiful neighborhoods, I tell everyone that I know that Hamilton is already the best place in Canada in which to reinvent yourself.

A Council that would cave in to Bob Young's and the CFL's economic blackmail to build a retro suburban stadium is not one that shares my values or those of the thousands of young professionals, many of whom fled Hamilton upon graduation, that are (or will soon be) looking for the best place in Canada to raise their children. Already, the tremendous grassroots energy that has risen up to confront the powerful, deep-pocketed influence that seems to care little about this city's best interest is refreshing and should be a sign that something positive is afoot in Hamilton.

It hasn't taken me long me to consider myself a proud Hamiltonian and I've surprised my friends, family and colleagues with my brimming advocacy for this city. If we continue down the path we were on, before it was selfishly hijacked by a private interest that amounts to little more than another big box retailer, Hamilton's ascendance won't be a secret much longer.

Please say no to corporate welfare and yes to a thriving community that has its priorities straight.

A proud new Hamiltonian,

Keanin Loomis

Comment edited by Keanin on 2010-08-09 12:49:13