CALGARY — In a recently surfaced viral clip, a trans mayoral candidate for Hamilton, Ontario, uses an odd technique to get their point across — using a sock puppet.Scarlett Gillespie, a former sex worker turned local activist and Executive Director of the Sex Workers’ Action Program (SWAP), was recently asked at a public event why she wanted to become Hamilton's new mayor, answering using said sock puppet."I knew I wanted to run for mayor when Andrea Horwath [current Hamilton mayor] refused to meet with me when I was a victim of a hate crime," reasoned Gillespie, speaking through the sock puppet."We were at the safety summit and she had her communications person, Amanda Kinnaird, stand in front of me like I was a feral dog when I actually just wanna be respected," Gillespie stated..Gillespie, known by the performance named Jelena Vermilion, has also previously received a YWCA Hamilton Women of Distinction award in 2024.One of the candidates available for Hamiltonians to vote for on October 26, Gillespie wishes to change the fact "City Hall [hasn't] reflected the lived realities of the people on the ground."Gillespie claims to push for affordable housing along with "advocating for climate justice and transparency in local government."Reported by VerifRadar, the outlet claims in the clip, Gillespie was actually presenting at a comedy festival, the Uncloseted Comedy 'Pride' Festival, and the sock puppets were a part of a bit..Posted on Gillespie's Instagram, another clip shows the interviewer and Gillespie at the same event as the viral clip."I'm a city housing Hamilton resident, a working-class trans woman living with disabilities," Gillespie said, in the longer excerpt.In the clip, Gillespie claims to support the development of a "queer community centre" in the city.
