UPDATE 9/15/22 – Please view the MAYORAL CANDIDATE RESPONSES to the 2022 Windsor Election Rose City Politics Candidate Questionnaire for the most up-to-date answers to not only Strong Mayor legislation but all 15 questions we posed all to Mayoral Candidates.
You can also view the WARD CANDIDATE RESPONSES to the 2022 Windsor Election Rose City Politics Candidate Questionnaire.
Original Article:
With Premier Ford announcing the introduction of strong mayor legislation for not only Ottawa and Toronto but also all large cities in Ontario, ostensibly to increase the provincial housing stock, I’ve asked all Windsor mayoral candidates the following questions about the expected legislation:
- What do you think of strong mayor governance?
- What do you think about the election fundamentally changing strong mayor powers for three of four years of the next mandate?
- What would be your priorities under strong mayor governance?
Mayoral candidate Drew Dilkens could not reply by the requested deadline and refused to answer after a deadline extension was offered, but he did provide a response to AM800 CKLW about the issue:
“Those two areas [Ottawa and Toronto] account for about 35 per cent of the overall housing stock that we have in the province of Ontario, and so I look forward to understanding fully what the impact would be for a city like ours.
If it’s a good idea I’m all for a good idea that’s going to help us be more efficient and effective in delivering great services for our residents.”
[What I find MOST interesting about Mayor Dilkens statement is that he begins speaking about increasing housing stock as a result of the Strong Mayor legislation but immediately pivots to discussing service delivery to residents.]
Mayoral Candidate Chris Holt responded with the following:
1. What do you think of strong mayor governance?
I think it’s an affront to democracy and diminishes the roles and responsibilities of city councillors.
2. What do you think about the election fundamentally changing strong mayor powers for three of four years of the next mandate?
I think residents value the voice of their ward councilor. A city is much more than a single person. Whether it be businesses, families, or your favourite walking trail, councilors are elected to champion local voices and work collaboratively to get things done. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. We’ve heard loud and clear that residents did not like the use of city resources for campaigning and using that office in a way that positioned him in a way above council. I think our residents know the perils of a strong mayor system already.
3. What would be your priorities under strong mayor governance?
A genuine, strong leader brings voices together through collaboration. As your mayor I would work to bring council together on the priorities that matter most to our residents. I’ve worked that way on council and would continue to do so as your Mayor. The strongest powers available to any Mayor is respect and the ability to listen. Those are the powers I would use most.
Mayoral candidate Benjamin Danyluk responded with the following:
Really it would all depend on who the Mayor is. It would make it easier to get things done. But when you have an admiration like the one we have, that favors decorative spending over the cities infrastructure, it would not be so good.
Being an election year were actually seeing more roads being repaired then normal, but as always not in the lower income areas.
As for what I would focus on, I would start by canceling the $32 mil glass roof there planning to put on our river front. I would also cancel the $4 mil for rebuilding the DT ice rink, seeing as how our winters have been steadily getting warmer every year(You kinda need ice for an ice rink). I would then use that money and invest in starting our own road crew. We could fix our roads better and cheaper our selves. It would create good paying city jobs, and would keep tax dollars in our local economy. I would also like to convert one of our abandoned schools into a community center for the homeless.
Mayoral candidate Ernie Lamont has yet to respond.
Mayoral candidate Aaron Day has yet to respond.
I will update with any new information when available, as well as field questions to new mayoral candidates.
Rose City Politics 