Russ Powers

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Taken at the October 20, 2006 Municipal Election Debate

Russ Powers (born March 2, 1949 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian politician. He is a former member of the Canadian House of Commons, representing the riding of Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale for the Liberal Party.

Powers moved with his family to Dundas in 1966, and remains a member of the community. He was educated at Mohawk College and the Royal Institute of Public Health and Hygiene, and has worked at McMaster University as a laboratory technologist since 1979. Powers also has military experience, having served as a Logistics Officer in the Canadian Army.

He was first elected to municipal office in Dundas in 1982, and 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 to the Hamilton 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. Liberal John H. Bryden had held the previous riding of Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Aldershot in the 1993, 1997 and 2000 federal elections, but defected to the Conservative Party in early 2004 due to his opposition to Paul Martin's leadership. Many believed that Bryden would win the redistributed riding in 2004, but he lost the Conservative nomination to David Sweet. Powers defeated Sweet by a margin of 39.5% to 36%, with the NDP 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 ran for and was re-elected to his previous position as councillor for Ward 13 in Hamilton.