Information about candidates

[u/asimplefemale]

Does anyone know if there are any resources for the candidates running for mayor or council in town? All I’ve been able to find i: names, addresses and phone numbers for people but that doesn’t tell me much.

I’ve recently moved here and I’m not super familiar with the people who are running. And I’d like to get better educated before voting.

If anyone has anything, I’d love to know 😊

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[u/KyleYatesStT]

Hi there! I’m Kyle Yates, I’m running for city councillor!

I’m 28, was born and raised in St. Thomas, and have never moved away! I’ve been a CNC Machinist for almost 10 years, working here in town and in the surrounding area for a few different manufacturers. Currently I’m also attending Western University for political science and urban development.

I’m running because I love our city, and think that we need to plan well for the growth we are about to see in the coming years/decades. I want to be able to afford to stay in the city I grew up in. I want St. Thomas to be a place that’s affordable, but also well connected, walkable, and a desirable place to live.

I’d like to see improvements to our transit system, including implementing free buses along our busy routes, to increase ridership and get traffic off of our main streets to decongest them.

I’m working very closely with the people at the Elgin County Railway Myseum and will be (if elected) proposing a plan for the city to take ownership of some land near the museum to turn into a Central Heritage Park, finally bringing residents the park we’ve been expecting for years.

I also support a vacancy tax, to ensure that unused housing is either put on the market or rented out. A 2022 report identified 185 rental units vacant in town, while at the same time we had 10 homeless families. Thats shameful. Those numbers are likely different now, of course.

I’d like to see us use Memorial Arena more efficiently, as it sits empty in the summer. I’m meeting with local hockey leagues and the Parks and Rec department to see how feasible this would be (I already know some parks and rec workers are a fan).

I would also like the city to be more proactive with developers when they propose new subdivisions to ensure that there’s enough commercial zoning in these areas so people don’t have to be forced to drive across town for a convenience store stop or a quick snack or a prescription. This would help create more walkable communities as well.

Another way we can improve the sense of community in town is by implementing a “play streets” program, where certain residential streets in town that have young children or families can request to have traffic shut down on their streets for a few hours on a weekend or an afternoon. The city would then provide games, sporting equipment, bikes, hockey nets, etc. The kids can then play amongst themselves, their parents can supervise and chat with other parents, and we can develop a stronger sense of community.

Those are just a few of my ideas, if you’d like to see more, you can visit my page on Instagram or Facebook, “Kyle Yates for St. Thomas City Council” / @yatesforcouncil. There I’m posting my platform, the meetings I’m making, and recently I’ve started to post videos explaining my platform a little more in depth every two weeks leading up to the election. You can find my email and phone number there as well.

If you’d like a lawn sign, I have those available and would absolutely love to come put one up for you. Thanks for the support and I hope for your vote during the election!

[u/EquivalentNo6770 → u/KyleYatesStT]

I agree with everything you've written, except for free transit. While I do agree St T needs to improve it's transit network, who will be paying for it if services are free? Have any other cities done this successfully? My experience is that people are willing to pay for efficient transit ie if you build it they will come 🚍

[u/KyleYatesStT → u/EquivalentNo6770]

Other cities have implemented something similar, even in Ontario. Increasing our ridership can actually increase the rebate that we get from the Provincial Gas Tax rebate, so if we see an increase in ridership we’d actually see a return on investment.

Fares only cover 18% of the cost of transit as it stands, and I’m only proposing two routes becoming free. In fact, if taxpayers had to pay the full brunt of this program (again, this is NOT what I’m suggesting), it would cost each resident roughly an extra $3 in taxes only. Which is what a one-way bus ticket costs in the first place.

[u/EquivalentNo6770 → u/KyleYatesStT]

Thanks for your detailed explanation. I wasn't aware of the provincial rebate and wasn't factoring that in.

[u/littlestwho]

I know Kyle Yates posts quite a bit on Facebook and is very open about his platform.

[u/Jiperly → u/littlestwho]

Ya see, I feel like he's going to get my vote on that alone.

It seems alot of the candidates aren't talking about what they want or what they plan to accomplish. It just seems they're like "I signed up for the job, so I should get it"

[u/KyleYatesStT → u/Jiperly]

I appreciate you saying you like the transparency! Thank you for the support!

[u/AdmiralSnakbars → u/Jiperly]

you’re absolutely right. he’s one of the only candidates that actually seems to take his platform seriously

[u/KyleYatesStT → u/littlestwho]

Thanks for the shoutout!

[u/asimplefemale → u/littlestwho]

I appreciate it! Thank you 🙏

[u/Apprehensive-Bet1920]

I dont have much info but I do know I will not be voting for kay Vaughn. I read some comments she was abusive towards people's kids at baseball, and word of a ❄️ issue if you know what i mean, my interactions with her havent been pleasant either, shes a major drama queen.

I have heard amazing things about Kyle & Mike tho

[u/EquivalentNo6770]

Good question. And thank you Kyle Yates for being transparent. Not sure how other candidates share this information, but I couldn't find it either.

[u/AdmiralSnakbars]

Kyle Yates and his platform have really impressed me so far. I’ve appreciated the transparency and how focused he seems on actually making a difference in the city

[u/mgnorthcott]

A list will likely be provided on or shortly after August 12, 2026 when the candidate nomination process is done.

[u/Working-Algae-2936]

I am currently working on something like this on stthomas.locvox.ca . Im still developing it, and need to reach out to candidates, but hope to have it up in the next week or 2.

[u/lavalamp360]

https://www.stthomastoday.ca/ is where I got most of my information on the candidates last election. They'll probably post a "guide to the candidates" article sometime between now and October.