Until the day before registration closed for the Oct. 24 municipal election, incumbent Bill Steele was running unopposed in Port Colborne. And then his brother signed up for the race – meaning there will be two ‘Stiles’ on the ballot when residents go to the polls. “I believe in democracy,” Charles Steele told CTV News Toronto. “If I hadn’t run… my brother would have been recognized.” “What will the future hold? Will you start appointing people? This is not democracy.” Charles said he hasn’t spoken to his brother in about 30 years and hasn’t discussed his intention to run against him, despite mulling over the decision for days before filing. “I don’t think he’s happy about it,” Charles added. Bill, who spent 17 years as a councilor and was first elected mayor in 2018, says that while he was surprised to see his brother’s name on the list of qualified candidates, he was always ready to fight for his seat. “I mean, we were ready for a campaign,” he told CTV News Toronto. “Regardless of who the candidate is or who would be against us, that’s who we’re going to face.” In the last municipal election, Bill beat three other competitors, winning 702 more votes than the runner-up. In total, 6,636 residents voted in 2018, representing a turnout of just under 43 percent. Bill says he hopes to continue the work he wanted to achieve, but was put into football because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes focusing on water sanitation rates, bringing more doctors to the area and expanding necessary infrastructure. “I’ll run on my disc,” said Bill. “I’m not sitting on any fences. So I stand still. Sometimes people agree with my stance, sometimes they don’t.” Charles disagrees and says his brother hasn’t done much during his tenure. He hopes to focus on affordable housing, lowering taxes and reducing street homelessness. “It won’t be easy. It will be very difficult, but we have to start saying what is impossible, we have to make it possible.” Charles added that his brother is “treating the taxpayers of Port Colborne like a piggy bank.” “I moved to Toronto when I was 18. I got a job at the post office. My brother, my father handed over the insurance business to him,” he said. “He doesn’t know what it’s like to live on a fixed income.” Neither brother seems particularly concerned about any further family problems on Election Day. Bill, for his part, said he doesn’t discuss his opponents on the campaign trail, and that won’t change. “It is what it is,” he said. “We’re going to do what we normally do in a campaign.” “We’ll be happy when polling day comes and we’re leading the polls.”
