1985 Brantford municipal election explained

The 1985 Brantford municipal election was held on November 12, 1985, to elect a mayor, city councillors, and school trustees in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. The rural and small-town communities surrounding Brantford also held elections on the same day.

Results

• Andy Woolley was a perennial candidate who ran for mayor of Brantford in 1978, 1980, 1982 and 1985.^[1] He was described as a school caretaker in 1980.^[2]

• Tom Potter used the slogan, "Active Representative, Accessible Alderman" in the 1985 campaign.^[3] Three years later, he wrote a letter to The Globe and Mail criticizing a requirement that all members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and their families be required to declare their assets. Potter described as an invasion of privacy.^[4]
• Paul Mellor appears to have been a first-time candidate for public office. He is not the same person as a Paul Mellor from Niagara Falls who was accused of murder in 2009.

• Yvonne McMahon ran for Brantford's fifth ward in 1976 and 1985, losing both times. She also ran a protest campaign for mayor of Brantford in 1982, finishing a distant second against incumbent Dave Neumann.

References

1. See Rudy Platiel, "Several long-serving mayors step down this year," The Globe and Mail, 12 November 1985, A18.
2. Rudy Platiel, "Voters go to polls in 801 municipalities," The Globe and Mail, 10 November 1980, p. 1.
3. Brantford Expositor, 11 November 1985, p. 6.
4. Tom Potter, "Nobody's business," The Globe and Mail, 24 February 1988, A6.