Candidates for Windsor Mayor: What We Know So Far

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens hasn’t confirmed or denied whether he’ll seek re-election this fall.

When reporters have asked him about his plans on three different occasions, he stated that he’s not a candidate and has no updates to share.

“You’re going to find out as soon as I have more to share,” he told reporters at a recent event.

As nominations close on Aug. 21, five candidates have declared their intent to run, including current Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis, who is the brother of former Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis.

CBC contacted all five mayoral hopefuls: Francis, Benjamin Danyluk, Tara Grayer, Kat Pasquach, and Patrick Sutherland.

All except Grayer responded. Here’s some background on each candidate.

Benjamin Danyluk

Danyluk started his career as a chef and began working in downtown restaurants in 1999.

This experience allowed him to witness the decline of the downtown area after the Sept. 11 attacks- which resulted in new passport requirements that discouraged American tourists-along with non-smoking bylaws that negatively affected local dining businesses, he explained.

He retrained as a welder and has been in that field for approximately 15 or 16 years.

Benjamin Danyluk speaks to CBC’s Windsor Morning during his first mayoral run in 2022. Danyluk proposes using multiple abandoned schools as hubs for homeless people instead of centralizing services in one area. (Windsor Morning)

Danyluk mentioned he’s running for mayor because he thinks the current administration is mishandling city affairs, leading to bad roads, high commercial vacancy rates, rising unemployment made worse by an inefficient temporary foreign worker program at the federal level, and an increasing homeless population downtown.

He advocates moving the homeless away from downtown and repurposing abandoned schools into potential support hubs for them.

When asked why he decided to run for mayor, Danyluk said those unhappy with how things are need to take action themselves.

“A lot of our politicians … are … people that … come from wealth,” he stated.

“They never had to worry about … whether they have to make a choice between paying your bills or buying food. … They either don’t understand or don’t care about the problems of everyday people. And you can see it in the decisions that are being made.”

Fred Francis

A city councillor since 2014 and brother of former mayor Eddie Francis, Fred Francis also serves as executive director of the Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County and previously worked as director of business development at Rafih Auto Group.

He decided to run for mayor because he feels he’s done all he can do as a councillor.

Francis is also focused on keeping spending under control and prioritizing needs over what he calls “legacy luxury capital projects,” like the new city hall ice rink and Streetcar No. 351.

A key pledge from Francis is ending strong mayor powers on his first day if elected while moving council meetings to 4 p. m., making it easier for residents to join in discussions.

Fred Francis has committed to never using strong mayor powers if elected mayor. (Dax Melmer/CBC)

Other focuses include affordable living conditions, safer streets, cleaner neighborhoods, attractive parks, and solid infrastructure aimed at preventing backyard flooding.

In response to how he’d tackle these issues despite limited control over provincial and federal funding for housing and addiction services,
Francis indicated he’d work towards building community support needed for those resources.

When asked how he’d differ from current Mayor Drew Dilkens,
Francis replied,“I bring people together”. He pointed out a recent dispute regarding funding for the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families as an example.

“I don’t believe in attacking organizations like the women’s shelter,”  he noted.
“We could work together and talk and compromise.”