Hamilton is a city that matters.

We deserve better in our politics.

This is an amazing city. Hamilton is filled with nothing but potential. I am so incredibly proud to call this place my home.

I’m Chris Erl, a life-long Hamiltonian with a passion for our city’s history, politics, and culture. I have deep roots in this city; one of my maternal great-grandfathers built the first house in Homeside. My maternal grandmother was a member of the Lady Hamilton Club. If you’ve ever lived in one of this city’s apartment buildings, you ceiling was likely plastered by my paternal grandfather.

I care about this place. That’s why I get frustrated when shady characters buy ad space in our last remaining paper to spread division and distrust.

We deserve accountability. We deserve honesty. And we deserve better in our politics. But we won’t get that by further dividing our community.

Wealthy interests are trying to harness the power of anger to manipulate this city’s democracy. At a time when people have real concerns about the high cost of living, municipal expenses, and the state of our democracy, clandestine campaigns like the one being waged in the pages of our daily newspaper do nothing but make the situation worse.

I write a weekly newsletter about Hamilton’s politics, community, and history called “The Sewer Socialists”. I have written about the group behind those Spectator ads three times, which you can read here, here, and here. In each of these investigations, I take issue with the clandestine nature of the group. It isn’t okay that a shadowy, right-wing populist group can spend tens of thousands of dollars to take out ads without being honest about who they are.

With the help of my readers, I’ve purchased these domains and created a website to present alternatives to the anger and division in the Spectator ads. With this site, I hope to contribute to the conversation in Hamilton in a positive and transparent way.

Because we’re Hamiltonians. And we deserve better than a politics of fear and anger. We deserve real ideas.