Candidate Diane Pouget Addresses Rumours

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As the burg watch blogger, my hope is that voters check facts and contact candidates to make informed choices, especially because there are so many running and rumours are rampant. I had a conversation with Councillor Candidate Diane Pouget about the topic and offered her the opportunity to address them here.

Councillor Candidate Diane Pouget

People have been approaching me directly and asking if I’m well. It seems they’ve been told I am not running due to illness, which is not true.  I believe this is a deliberate attempt to influence voters for voting for me.

I am always available to the public.  I attended each and every Council meeting in the past four years, either in person or virtually.  I answer all phone calls and emails, as long as they properly identify themselves.  I did not respond to a blogger, who refused to identify herself and I understand her husband is running for Deputy Mayor.  I asked her (Sarah Sally) 10 questions and asked her to share them with her audience.  She didn’t answer, but chose to chastise us for not responding to her questions.  It should be noted, that 10 candidates refused to respond to her blog as an unidentified person.

I mailed out 9,100 flyers.  It was disturbing to learn, that some people have not received my pamphlets. However, despite these setbacks, I will continue to answer questions and concerns from the taxpayers of our Town.  It is quite obvious with 25 candidates running for 7 positions and the large voter turnout so far, our residents are very unhappy with the lack of performance and lack of trust of this Council.

I believe people know that I am an honest hardworking candidate and I have a proven record of representing our community in a fair and trustworthy manner.  If I am elected, I will carefully scrutinize the Town’s finances and if we find any discrepancies, I will vote to have a Forensic Audit to discover if there was any criminal activity or wrongdoing  and hold those accountable, if there were any violations of our financials.

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We Already Pay For Policing

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Heidi Baillargeon recommends ‘That Council APPROVE an over expenditure in the amount of $20,000 from the General Reserve Fund in order to cover the cost of this service’ in her report on today’s council meeting agenda: Subject: Safety at Admiral Hockey Games.

The town’s obligations regarding the provision of adequate and effective police services in accordance with its needs is set out in provincial legislation and the 20-year contract between the town of Amherstburg and Windsor.

(3) Every chief of police shall establish procedures and processes on community patrol which address when and where directed patrol is considered necessary or appropriate, based on such factors as crime, call and public disorder analysis, criminal intelligence and road safety.  O. Reg. 3/99, s. 4 (3)

If safety issues are affecting the community and amenities as mentioned in Baillargeon’s report to council, “This behavior has continued to escalate since last season with damage not only at the Libro but other Town facilities as well such as King Navy Yard Park and Toddy Jones Park washrooms where cameras were recently installed this spring,” should public consultations be held to determine if the community’s policing needs are being met?

The report mentions consultations with Windsor Police generally, but how many incidents were there? were charges laid? what was the result? what is included in the memorandum of understanding to be attached to paid duties? Did Windsor Police publish a report with its recommended actions after it conducted a site assessment, based on principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design like it did for the safety concerns at the skateboard park in October 2021? 

Mayor Aldo DiCarlo was quoted in a Windsor Star article, “Our goal was to try to ensure residents felt no difference … For those who were concerned about a drop in service level — That just didn’t happen. I would say that it appears we have improved service levels.” “The feedback I’ve been getting from residents is that it seems our officers are everywhere,” DiCarlo said.

One or more of the current council candidates has mentioned community safety. Maybe we do need meaningful public consultation.

Candidates Address Rumours

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There are so many active discussions online about the candidates, in addition to the coffee shops, compared to 2014 when I first facilitated questions from residents to candidates.

Lately, I’ve spent more time online than I care to in an attempt to be better informed and the same rumours keep popping up.

I reached out to two candidates; I specifically asked Mayoral Candidate John Laframboise if he would provide his phone number for people to call regarding questions and/or rumours. I specifically asked Deputy Mayoral Candidate Chris Gibb if he would address rumours appearing online.

I won’t duplicate the rumours here but I provided screen shots and or mentioned the online location of them and both candidates were happy to grant me permission to post their responses.

Mayoral Candidate John Laframboise

I served as ”the Volunteer President of the Assumption Heritage Trust Foundation“ appointed by the Foundation Board. I resigned June 2012 along with ALL FOUNDATION BOARD MEMBERS …after Bishop Fabbro CANCELLED more than 2 MILLION DOLLARS in Pledges to the Campaign.

We were actively soliciting 12 Million Dollars of ASKS at the time.

The Windsor Community Foundation pledged $135,000, The City of Windsor Heritage Fund pledged $250,000, Assumption Parish pledged $567,000, The Baker Foundation $ 100,000, Riverview Steel $100,000, to name a few.

Jeff Baker was the Lawyer for the Foundation and Jerome Brannigan, Deputy Police Chief City of Windsor was the Treasurer …very easy to VERIFY what I am saying is true!

Unfortunately the Windsor Star buried the truth in the Paper months later.

I would be pleased to SHOW the Final Report and audit by Price Waterhouse to anyone.

John Laframboise 519 259-3636

Deputy Mayoral Candidate Chris Gibb

I was asked by the Town to sit on a committee, with many others, to review the resumes of the people who applied to be Amherstburg’s CAO back at that time. The committee reviewed the applicants and then presented John Miceli as the most qualified applicant at the time. He was eventually hired by Town Council. I have attached a copy of the Council meeting minutes showing which councillors voted for and against his hiring.

As far as the rumours regarding the police bill, for those saying that I owe the town money, that is a lie. I do not, nor have I ever owed the town any money. I was part of a group of volunteers that were asked by the Town to run a festival. We were then presented with, what we felt, was an unjustified bill from the Amherstburg Police. We disputed the bill with the police board and with the town. It is actually quite an interesting story for anyone who has had dealings with the former Amherstburg Police Services Board.

If you ever want to get together to discuss these issues further I would be glad to sit down with you.

Chris Gibb

Miceli hiring_1

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Amherstburg Candidates And Accessibility: Chamber of Commerce

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I appreciated Mayoral Candidate John Laframboise holding his meet and greet at the K of C Hall in Amherstburg, while several other candidates held meet and greets in locations with barriers.

I was just as disappointed that the Chamber of Commerce used the stage, with its stairs, for the Mayoral and Deputy Mayoral Candidates’ Night on October 12, 2022.

stairs leading up to stage in hall for municipal candidate night in Amherstburg, Ontario 2022

Chamber Council Candidates – Missed the Show?

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The link to last night’s candidate event is available on the Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.

It felt awkward, candidates having to switch seats, only some questions to some candidates and time wasted on candidates having to repeat lengthy questions, not to mention audio cutting out and the show being delayed.

Chamber of Commerce Councillor Candidates’ Event

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Well that was interesting. The chamber erroneously advertised it as a councillor debate. Technical difficulties delayed the live feed so I missed a lot of the candidates’ opening addresses. The ‘community standards’ warning popped up about bullying and hate speech in the chat. FOR WHAT?!!

All I asked was, kids play in the streets because they can’t play in the parks? Two very hot topics, not hate speech or bullying, that the candidates were discussing.

The warning popped up again and I ignored it. Maybe it was meant for some other vocal viewers exercising their free speech.

Of course the audio cut out for a question about accessibility, which I missed but I already know what a lot of the candidates think about that.

Hot Air Expected At Chamber of Commerce Councillor Candidates’ Event

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Will you attend or watch online? I predict a message of positivity from some, a look back at accomplishments from the incumbents, and a reality check by those who deal with it.

I think the Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce could have done a better job of advertising details in advance of the event.

Info from their Facebook page:

hosted by Michelle Maluske from CTV Windsor at 5:30pm.
Doors open at 4:30pm or watch online.