Joseph Robert Gallant is a former Roman Catholic priest from North Bay who later worked as an interior designer. He took part in a protest against Archbishop Aloysius Ambrozic in 1994, after Ambrozic spoke against provincial legislation to expand the rights of same-sex couples. He ran for mayor of Brantford in 1997 and 2000. Fifty-five years old on the latter occasion, he described himself as a "controversial candidate" and as someone who had never been a politician. He called for a renewal of Brantford's downtown in both elections, supported a charity casino in 1997, and decried the links between politicians and developers in 2000.
Judy Friel began her career in early child care work in 1968. She has owned and operated several child care centres in Brantford and has received a Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Early Childhood Education. Friel is the mother ofChris Friel, who served as mayor of Brantford from 1994 to 2003 and was elected to the same office again in 2010. Her late husband, James Friel, also sought election to public office in Brantford in 1976. She decided to run for council after her son said he that would not seek re-election as mayor. He later reconsidered and was elected to another term; local reports suggest that his decision prevented his mother from running a credible independent campaign. She was fifty-seven years old in 2000 and said that her primary concerns were the environment, completion of the Brantford Southern Access Route, and an expansion of youth facilities.
Chuck Giles, who was fifty-five years old in 2000, was a teacher, childcare worker, and residential counsellor prior to his retirement. He has been a director with the Ontario Housing Corporation and a member of the Brantford General Hospital Board. He ran for mayor of Brantford in 1994 and for city council in 1991 and 2000, losing each time. He acknowledged that he had no change of winning in 2000 and said that he only ran to prevent John Sless and Vince Bucci from winning without opposition. Giles later became involved in campaigns against elder abuse and co-founded Brantford's Seniors Resource Centre.
Shawn MacKeigan was a first-time political candidate, aged twenty-two. He was a graduate of Pauline Johnson Collegiate and worked for a Kitchener-based company in 2000. He called for downtown renewal and the expansion of Laurier Brantford, and said he would like to see Brantford's downtown become a university community. He later became chairman of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 181, representing Ontario Works Brant, and helped build a coalition of local labour groups ahead of collective bargaining.
Source: Ross Marowits, "Friel rides happiness," Brantford Expositor, 14 November 2000, A3.
