My opinions are based on my having reviewed:
- RTT profiles
- Windsor Star profiles
- CBC question answers
- am800 Mayoral interviews
- campaign print materials
- online information
- the one accessible meet and greet
- Chamber of Commerce Candidates’ Nights
- CBC Youth candidate interviews
- survey responses to others
- answers and responses to my blog’s questions
- T.H.R.I.V.E. White papers
- Amherstburg Community Foundation site and,
- any interactions I’ve had with them.
The candidates are not obliged to answer anyone’s questions and I make no assumptions, although I do wonder if it would have been fair to answer all, or none, rather than favouring some.
Mayoral Candidates
The first time I met JOHN LAFRAMBOISE was at his meet and greet and I appreciated that of the two meet the mayoral candidates’ events, his was accessible at the K of C hall. Laframboise addressed rumours he’s aware of and offered documentary evidence to refute what has been circulating. He took regular breaks during the sharing of his platform to invite audience members to question him. I concluded that he is a task-oriented person who prides himself on completing tasks and taking on challenges. I followed up with an email and he indicated he would be pleased to show anyone documentation; his phone number and email are publicly available on the candidates’ page of the town’s website and in this post, Candidates Address Rumours. During the Chamber Candidates’ Night, he was also the only mayoral candidate to specifically acknowledge the need to make the town hall accessible.
Laframboise’s platform includes creating a ‘desperately needed’ strategic business plan for the town, ensuring residents’ participation in the decision-making process, addressing the lack of amenities in the town’s parks, and reclaiming the town’s senior citizens’ centre.
I feel that Laframboise is a well-rounded candidate with proven leadership, impressive job experience in multiple sectors and extensive volunteer involvement:
Sports…Hockey, as a Volunteer
Head Coach North Stars Elite Program, and Villanova High School, Organized the Senior Men’s Sunday Night Hockey League
Community Fundraising…Volunteer
Door to Door for the Ambulance Squad
Door to Door for the Lion’s Club Swimming Pool
Door to Door for the 1st ARENA
Served as a Volunteer…
Chairperson for Team Canada Olympic Basketball Team
Chairperson for the 100th Anniversary of the Basilian Priests in Amherstburg
Board Member for the United Way of America Council in Washington
Vice Chair of the Canadian Host Committee for the Republican Convention Detroit
President of the National Catholic Broadcasting Foundation of Canada.
The Artisan Grill event to meet MICHAEL PRUE was not accessible, which is surprising, given his speech about his involvement in the provincial accessibility legislation passed in 2001. For that reason, I hold him to a higher standard. Prue’s website and Facebook page also may have issues that prevent some people with disabilities from accessing information. Prue spoke in opposition of the 2020 recommendation to request an extension to the website accessibility compliance deadline from the province but voted in favour of the motion. Reaching a consensus is fine, but so is disagreeing and voting in opposition, especially if one feels strongly about an issue. Decorum has been a complaint and Prue advertises he is an expert on Rules of Order and maintaining decorum. I wonder how many times during the last four years he raised a point of order to return to proper decorum. His website lists 12 priorities and his literature acknowledges residents’ concerns he’s heard, along with his commitment to act and resolve the issues. I would have been more impressed by a long list of specific accomplishments rather than listing political positions as experience.
I also would have appreciated more consistency in the action regarding correction of minutes. During a council meeting this year, Prue questioned committee minutes, the presence of his wife, a member, at a committee meeting and the recording of votes. I pointed out an error in the minutes of another town committee his wife chairs when I appeared as a delegate, and he was silent.
Prue’s commitment to heritage is obvious; he proposed 6 actions in his platform. Also, at the October 17 council meeting, Prue wanted to hear from staff or the proponent, in attendance, whether 6 Heritage Committee’s recommendations will be carried out. The proponent agreed as he also did when he attended the committee’s September 29 meeting.
Prue has not answered many of my email questions to council members nor did he answer any from my blog to the candidates or my questions on his Facebook page. His literature includes a testimonial from an anonymous Facebook page.
My opinion of FRANK CERASA is brief. He readily admits he’s not a politician, and I don’t think being one is necessarily a good attribute. He comes from a business and union world. He seems committed to planning for the future, being fiscally responsible and sharing information with taxpayers. He likes a hands-on approach and would like to bring in increased revenues through developments but also maintain the heritage. In response to concerns from taxpayers, he promises no new taxes in 4 years, and he knows that will be a challenge. He would welcome input from the community and recognizes the need for larger council chambers.
I haven’t had a conversation with BOB ROZANKOVIC. When he announced his intention to run last fall, I sent questions that he didn’t answer. I agree that taxes need to be held by finding efficiencies within municipal staff, but we never learned if we would have realized more significant savings with the OPP and whether those potential savings might have helped pay for the current lack of amenities. The town’s finances have been a hot topic since 2014. Some municipalities saved up to a million dollars annually through OPP services and Council did pass two motions to obtain an OPP Costing. Unfortunately, at its inaugural meeting, the Joint Police Advisory Committee (JPAC) “determined that the OPP costing process is not feasible.”
I didn’t appreciate that Rozankovic was a JPAC member when it excluded the public to discuss the policing RFP on four occasions. The Ombudsman concluded: Failing to comply with the terms of reference was wrong under s. 21(1)(d) of the Ombudsman Act.
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