Arkells frontman calls on fans to participate in naming Hamilton's snowplows. This is why
A screenshot of the Arkells' Max Kerman's TikTok video encouraging fans to vote in the City of Hamilton's 'Name the Plow' initiative (TikTok/arkellsmusic). A snowplow makes its way along a street in Ottawa after a snowstorm, on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
A local musician is calling on fans to cast their ballots and name Hamilton, Ont.’s snowplows this winter season—in particular he is hoping they vote for the option that bears his name.
“My mother always warned me to stay away from municipal politics. It’s a dirty business, she’d say,” Max Kerman, lead singer of the Arkells, told CTV News Toronto.
“But today, I have no choice but to answer my true calling. I’m throwing my hat in the ring and goddamnit I’m here to win.”
On Tuesday, the City of Hamilton launched its Name the Plow initiative, encouraging residents to vote to name 10 of the city’s snowplows from 20 options. The city kicked off the campaign as a means to draw awareness to its snow-clearing services and the work behind them.
Over 2,000 names were submitted, and the top 20 names were chosen by the city using the following factors: how frequently they were submitted, if they were fun and family-friendly, and if they had a connection to Hamilton or to the wintry season.
“Names like Icekee Wee Wee, Eugene Sleddy and Max Kermanator were submissions that came from residents, and we love that they paid homage to Hamilton,” Emily Trotta, City of Hamilton’s communications officer, told CTV News Toronto.
The last of the three, Max Kermanator, is a play on Kerman’s name, which is why the singer is encouraging Hamiltonians to vote for it.
“Hey everyone, I don’t ask for much but today I need your help. Somehow I’ve been nominated to be the potential name for the @cityofhamilton snow plow,” Kerman tweeted Tuesday.
“There’s a lot of worthy names, but ‘Max Kermanator’ simply makes the most sense.”
Some have expressed their support to cast their ballots for Kerman’s snowplow, including the organizers behind the Polaris Music Prize.
“If one of our past nominees has a chance to have a snowplow named after them, you know we’re here to support,” the account tweeted.
Other punny celebrity names made the cut, including Melton John, Spready Mercury, and Betty Whiteout.
“It’s great to see that Max is sharing this initiative with fans, and we look forward to finding out what the 10 final winning names will be,” Trotta said.
These are the top 20 names residents can vote for:
- Plowy McPlowface
- CTRL-SALT-DELETE
- Clearopathra
- Melton John
- Darth Blader
- The Big Leplowski
- The Hamilsnownian
- Olaf
- Sprinkles
- Eugene Sleddy
- Blizzard Wizard
- Spongebob Snowpants
- Plowasaurus
- Mr. Plow
- HAMBONI
- Icekee Wee Wee
- Max Kermanator
- Austin Plowers
- Spready Mercury
- Betty Whiteout
Voting is open up until Jan. 8, and the winning names will be revealed during the first full week of January 2023.
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