Russ Powers

Taken at the October 20, 2006 Municipal Election Debate

Russ Powers (born March 2, 1949) is a Canadian politician. He was a member of the House of Commons in Canada's 38th Parliament, representing the riding of Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale for the Liberal Party.

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Powers moved with his family to Dundas, Ontario in 1966, and remains a member of that community. He was educated at Dundas District High School, Mohawk College and the Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene, and worked at McMaster University in laboratory medicine from 1979 until his retirement in 2007. Powers also has military experience, having served as a Logistics Officer in the Canadian Army & Air Reserves.

First elected to municipal office in Dundas in 1982, he served as a Dundas Town Councillor until 2000. He was also elected as a Hamilton-Wentworth Regional Councillor in 1995. When Dundas was amalgamated with Hamilton in 2001, Powers was elected as Dundas' first representative to the Hamilton, Ontario City Council.

In 2004 Russ resigned mid-term from his city council seat to run for Member of Parliament representing the open Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale seat in that year's Canadian federal election. Powers defeated Conservative David Sweet by a margin of 39.5% to 36%, with the New Democratic Party candidate Gordon Guyatt receiving 21% support.

In the 2006 election the same top three candidates all contested the riding again. This time, however, Conservative David Sweet defeated Powers, winning 39.12% of the vote to Powers' 34.5%. Guyatt again finished third, again receiving approximately 21% of the vote.

Later in 2006, Powers was re-elected to his previous position of Hamilton City Councillor for Ward 13 (Dundas). In 2010, he sought re-election as Ward 13 Councillor and was successful, defeating four others by winning all polls with almost 60% of the popular support. From 2012-14, Powers served as President of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and a Director of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). In 2014, Powers announced he would not seek re-election. He enjoys his retirement through volunteer involvement with a number of local organizations.^[1]

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