In Essex County, look to the middle for the mayoral race to watch this fall, says University of Windsor political science Prof.Lydia Miljan.
Essex Mayor Ron McDermott has three challengers: Coun. Bill Baker, Coun. Ron Rogers and former Essex Free Press editor and Harrow News reporter Andy Comber. Rogers ran against McDermott in 2010 and lost by 376 votes.
“Essex is interesting because they’ve had challenges in the past. They had probably the most controversial amalgamation process,” Miljan said.
McDermott, who is seeking his fourth term, is well liked, she said.
“The question is what is going to be different about the people who are vying for the position or challenging it.”
In the surrounding municipalities, Amherstburg, Tecumseh, LaSalle and Lakeshore all have plenty of candidates to make races for both the mayor and deputy mayor positions.
Tecumseh mayoral candidate Antonello ‘Tony’ Di Millo, Thursday September 11, 2014. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)
Tecumseh, which already looked to have a good race between Mayor Gary McNamara and Deputy Mayor Cheryl Hardcastle, saw a third candidate for mayor emerge this week. Antonello (Tony) Di Millo is a 52-year-old owner of Tecumseh Cycle. He has lived in Tecumseh since 1999 but was a Windsor mayoral candidate in 1991 when Mike Hurst won.
Di Millo said he’d like seniors and small businesses to get tax breaks and for Tecumseh to run its own greenhouse to produce food. He said long serving council members seem to lose touch with working people.
“I want to bring it back to the people. I really do because I just think that people aren’t heard,” Di Millo said.
New candidates face the challenge of elections that favour incumbents. When an incumbent challenges an incumbent mayor or deputy mayor, issues become key, Miljan said. Candidates tend to need a platform other than wanting someone new at the helm, she said.
“This idea that we need some change for the sake of change that happens more in the federal and provincial arena and even there we’ve seen over the last several election cycles that people are much more comfortable with the same old than risking it on a new party,” Miljan said. “That’s sort of the same scenario that happens with municipal politics unless there’s something that’s gone on that’s been really terrible or there’s been a really controversial decision.”
In the county Kingsville stands out as having the most candidates: 23 for five council seats. Miljan can’t comment on that municipality because her husband Derek Prowse is one of the candidates.
Another first-time candidate is barber Tony Gaffan, son of former three-term Kingsville mayor Jim Gaffan.
Tony, 46, said he can’t remember so many candidates in Kingsville. “I think it’s beautiful that people are wanting to get involved in their community.”
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