Disability activist Sarah Jama to seek nomination as Ontario NDP candidate for Hamilton Centre

Prominent Hamilton activist Sarah Jama says she intends to seek the nomination from the Ontario NDP to run for member of provincial parliament (MPP) in Hamilton Centre.

"There's really an opportunity at this point in time to redefine what it means to be a member of the party," Jama told CBC Hamilton Tuesday morning, shortly after Hamilton Centre MPP Andrea Horwath announced she's leaving her provincial role to run for mayor of Hamilton.  

Horwath has held the seat since 2007 and was Ontario NDP party leader from 2009 until earlier this year. 

Jama is holding an event outside city hall Wednesday morning to speak to the community about her intentions. 

"There's a shift in the NDP, there's a fight for the soul of the party," Jama said. "There are people who have been involved for decades and decades in the NDP who have maintained the status quo and I think what I bring to that is a peaceful disruption."

Jama said people can relate to her. She's a 28-year-old caregiver and renter in downtown Hamilton.

"I think Queen's Park has never really had someone who's grown up on ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program), who's disabled and racialized, who's lived in the shelter system, who has struggled with food insecurity ... who has also managed campaigns," she said.

Besides her lived experience, Jama had a hand in political campaigns — for Horwath, Hamilton Centre MP Matthew Green and Ward 3 coun. Nrinder Nann. She said she's also served on the NDP's federal council and executive.

Jama is the co-founder of the the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, a founding board member of the Hamilton Transit Riders' Union and has worked with numerous organizations like the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, the Hamilton Community Benefits Network and Hamilton CareMongering, a COVID-19 community support initiative. 

She's also well known for her activism, which has prompted criticism from some in the community, including current Mayor Fred Eisenberger and police. 

Those efforts included staying at an encampment in front of city hall for weeks, placing a coffin in front of Eisenberger's home later and spray painting "Defund The Police" on Main Street — all of which occurred in 2020 — among other actions. Charges against her and five other activists related to encampment protests in 2021 were dropped earlier this year. 

She has also spoken out widely against the expansion of Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law and the impact on disabled and racialized people as a result. 

When asked about what she says to people who think she's too radical, Jama pointed to her experience with campaigns and community groups.

"The parts of my activism that make people uncomfortable were meant to do so because ... when you don't have power and all you have are the people around you to push for change, sometimes that means focusing on shifting the narrative," she said.

"What I'm doing is now is attempting to do now is seek power and seek the nomination so I can actually have a seat at the table."

Six months for a byelection once seat is vacated

Despite registering as a municipal candidate Tuesday, Horwath has not yet resigned from her provincial seat, a member of her campaign team told CBC Hamilton Tuesday. She "will take a couple of weeks to wrap things up," according to her team.

Premier Doug Ford will then have six months to call a byelection, as laid out in the Legislative Assembly Act. Parties do not need to wait for a writ in order to nominate a candidate to run, however. 

Ontario NDP Provincial Director Lucy Watson said in an email Monday the party would nominate an "equity-deserving candidate to replace them." That might mean "a woman, a candidate who is Black, Indigenous or racialized, a person from the 2SLGBTQ+ community or a candidate with a disability," Watson said.

Jama said she'll fill what she sees as a gap in leadership by being on the ground. She'll continue to that kind of work, she said, such as visiting community kitchens and speaking to people at safe injection sites, among other things.

Jama said Horwath has helped steer the NDP party, but being party leader can take away from being visible in Hamilton.

Jama said she would also like to redistribute money from the elected offices in Hamilton Centre to community efforts. She would also fight to raise ODSP funding and social assistance to a living wage, as well as making rent more affordable, she said, working toward a guaranteed basic income and improving the state of hospitals' emergency departments.

Jama added "hundreds of people" have signed up as members of the NDP's Hamilton Centre riding association to support her in recent weeks. The Ontario NDP did not respond to CBC's request for the number of party members in the riding.  

Community leader Evelyn Myrie has 'had calls' to seek nomination

Horwath told reporters Tuesday she wouldn't endorse any single candidate, adding it's up to the people in the riding association.

Afro Canadian Caribbean Association Hamilton president Evelyn Myrie was at Horwath's announcement near city hall. 

She told CBC Hamilton people have approached her about the possibility but she hasn't decided if she'll seek the nomination yet.

"I've had many calls to ponder it," she said, adding she's focused on her business right now.

"I'm not at the stage where I've made a decision about anything."

Myrie said she ran to be a city councillor in 1996 and previously sought an NDP nomination at a provincial level in 2003. 

She's the CEO of Empower Strategy Group and the former executive director Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion.

In the recent provincial election, running against Horwath in Hamilton Centre were Progressive Conservative Sarah Bokhari, Liberal Ekaterini Dimakis and for the Greens, Sandy Crawley.

Dimakis told CBC Hamilton Tuesday she intends to run again when there's a byelection.

"I will have more updates in the next few days, and I will post them on my community-focused social media platforms," she said.