In November 1991, through "a stunning upset" Trainer defeated incumbent Edith Fuller, in office since 1980, in the Town of Haldimand mayoralty race (Nolan 1991).
Fuller "took no stand on Enviromax ... because she didn't believe she had all the information" and "supported the ... recreation centre" although the Haldimand chapter of the Ontario Taxpayers' Coalition was opposed to it.
Fuller "termed the race 'one of the most unpleasant campaigns I've ever been involved in' ... accused some of her opponents of spreading nasty rumors about her" and misleading "voters about the issues" (Nolan 1991).
Trainer announced her candidacy on March 28, 2000, and initially campaigned on "her record at the helm of 'one of the best-run, financially stable municipalities in Ontario with no debt, more than $6 million in reserves and only one minor tax increase'" (Prokaska 2000).
Trainer also commented on concerns she had regarding a "bitter" (Best 2004a) Canadian Union of Public Employees contract negotiation with the Haldimand County council that occurred in 2002.
Trainer received some criticism of her 1991–2000 tenure as mayor of the former Town of Haldimand, in particular with regard to "penny pinching" on infrastructure maintenance—mainly roads, which were, by 2003, in poor repair (Best 2003).
Among smaller donations from area businesses and prominent citizens were $200 from former Dunnville Mayor Bob Blake and $200 from War Memorial Hospital CEO Paul Mailloux.
Ward 3 (Caledonia) councilor Craig Ashbaugh later offered a third set of numbers and stated that "With $1.5 million interest on the $25 million sale proceeds, the county can install community center water system upgrades, purchase defibrillators, replace the Dunnville arena floor or construct a Cayuga ambulance base and a new Lowbanks fire hall" at which point another councillor, Lorne Boyko noted that "this is the first time he's heard this list and that there has been no direction from council about it" (Best 2005c).
The first documented decision occurred on October 18, 2004, when "council approved $239,375 to hire the Miller Thomson firm for the job" of consulting on the "request for proposal and sale process for Haldimand Hydro" (Best 2005e).
In December 2004 Bill Pearce offered a controversial reflection on the numerous interested buyers, noting that "the response shows that council's decision to look at divesture was probably the right course to follow.
By January 5, Donna Pitcher (a former Ward 2 candidate) had collected 2000 signatures opposing the sale and stated that the petition "will be examined by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) ...
Lorraine Bergstrand also "reminded Trainer about her election promises for open, accessible and responsible government for the people" and "criticized council for its quick decision to look for a buyer" (Best 2005c).
On April 13, 2005, Bill Pearce reported to County council that "[costs] for the request for proposal and sale process for Haldimand Hydro exceeded estimates ...
As later revealed in a report prepared by human resources consultants The Burke Group, during the 2003 election campaign "Trainer declared that she did not want to work with McLachlan and other senior staff" in the event that she took office and became head of the municipal corporation (Best 2005f).
On November 13, 2003, four days after winning the election and two weeks before taking office on December 1, "Trainer spoke to a senior county manager about changing administrative assistants" (Best 2005f).
At a municipal corporation meeting held on November 25, 2003, "Trainer was advised by the county lawyer to inform McLachlan about expectations before her performance was criticized.
Council voted that three actions be taken: "a written apology be extended to the employee on behalf of Haldimand County council; the mayor be requested to voluntarily reimburse the county for the costs of an investigation by the consulting firm; the mayor be requested to take training in the areas of sensitivity, understanding of harassment legislation, conflict resolution and effective communication skills" (Hamilton Spectator 2005).
Given the report and on "legal advice from the municipal lawyer" (Best 2005f) council formulated the three actions listed above and "Trainer said the censure does not make her ponder resigning" (Hamilton Spectator 2005).
She also said the county then refused to participate in a negotiation for a fair severance package and demanded she accept a lesser role in the planning department on a full-time basis" (Burman 2007).
On November 6, 2007, Haldimand County "announced it is paying a former employee $175,000 to end a lawsuit in which she claimed she was wrongfully dismissed and harassed out of her job by Mayor Marie Trainer" (Nolan 2007).
Nolan (2007), writing for the Hamilton Spectator, noted that the settlement "appears to end the ugly affair in which a consultant found Trainer had harassed McLachlan and created a bad work environment during the 17 months she served as the mayor's administrative coordinator following the 2003 election."
On August 10, 2005, a special Haldimand County council meeting was convened to consider the June 28 report prepared by The Burke Group subsequent to the May 2005 complaint of harassment filed against Trainer.
The meeting entered a closed session and Trainer retired to her office because her presence would constitute a conflict of interest during the council's deliberation on the investigation evidence.
The site is on the southwestern outskirts of Caledonia, an unincorporated town in Ward 3 of the regional municipality of Haldimand County, where Trainer was elected mayor in 2003.
By April 21, a rally of 500 people opposed to the Six Nations protestors (including Douglas Creek Estates homeowners) had occurred, police had conducted a nighttime raid on the site using "M16 rifles, tear gas, pepper spray and Tasers" (arresting 16 people), the protestors had reinforced their presence with hundreds of additional Six Nations members and barricades, and began stopping traffic on Highway 6, the main thoroughfare in Caledonia.
A sympathetic protest at the Tyendinaga Mohawk reserve was occurring, in which CN tracks were blocked on the main rail corridor between Southern Ontario and eastern Canada (CBC 2006) harv error: no target: CITEREFCBC2006 (help).
On April 25, 2006, Trainer, as mayor of Haldimand County and not a member of the provincial government negotiating team, "[infuriated] protesters when she [told] CBC Newsworld that Caledonia residents: "...have to get to work to support their families.
The CBC (2006b) noted that the "incident marked a further deterioration in relations between the protesters and town residents following a noisy confrontation at the barricades Monday night that led to the arrest of one person."
The Haldimand County council declared a state of emergency and "Hydro One officials" estimated "the cost of repairing the damage from the arson" at over "$1.5 million" (Nolan 2006).
The Brantford Expositor (2006) reported that "Trainer says natives vandalized a hydro transformer that blacked out power in Caledonia, Simcoe, Waterford and part of the Six Nations reserve.