Why is our top local elected official spending so much time courting favour in Essex County with people he wasn’t elected to serve?

Why is he not addressing the concerns of Windsor residents?

"Members of Council shall serve and be seen to serve their constituents in a conscientious and diligent manner"    -- Municipal By-Law 98-2011

Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens posted this picture from a meeting with Essex County's mayors on his social media on June 25, 2019:

In the accompanying story by local radio station AM800, he was quoted saying:    "We will all go to Toronto together to make sure the premier understands that our entire region is behind this project."

How can an elected leader make a claim so far from the truth? The mayor's statement could hardly be further from our local reality. There is no debate about the need for provincial investment in our health care infrastructure. But this does not apply to support for the location of this investment. For more than five years, engaged residents of all ages and from all walks of life have been pleading with their elected decision makers to represent them in calling for a responsible location for our new hospital.

1) Thousands of Windsor and Essex County residents have displayed lawn signs protesting the planned mega-hospital location (on active farmland adjacent to Windsor Airport):

2) A recent CTV News poll showed a clear majority does not favour the exurban hospital site:

3) At the nine-hour long, August 13, 2018 Windsor City Council meeting at which the hospital zoning was approved, 37 of the 45 attending delegates voiced factual concerns about the proposal. Of the 8 remaining delegates supporting the proposal, 7 were developers, representatives of developers, or landowners. Only one delegate who favored the proposal was a resident without any apparent financial interests in the location. More than 20 written submissions expressing negative concerns about the site were also presented to Council during that meeting.  4) 33 delegates spoke of their concerns for the location of the hospital at the April 25, 2016 Windsor City Council meeting at which the tax levy for the 10% local share of the cost of the hospital was approved. 5) 28 participants have been approved to join CAMPP's LPAT challenge of Windsor City Council's approval of the project. 6) Four Business Improvement Associations (BIAs) pledged their financial support for the LPAT challenge on behalf of their member businesses with concerns about the impact of the loss of two institutions (employing more than 4,000). Since 2014, there are many more excellent examples of the community's widespread resistance to this flawed plan, yet the mayor - - Windsor's top elected official  - - pretends there is nothing to see.

How can we possibly trust our elected leaders to do the right thing? In the past two decades, Windsor's officials have made many flawed decisions despite well-founded constituent objections. Flimsy analysis is often used to justify having "skin in the game." Taxpayers are still paying dearly for these mistakes. Among the poor planning decisions: 1) Adventure Bay, a city owned waterpark, is a financial failure. A well-used community swimming pool (Windsor Water World) in one of Windsor's lowest income neighbourhoods was closed in 2015 to pay for this new facility. Two others (Adie Knox and Atkinson) narrowly averted the same fate after an outcry from area residents. Waterpark revenues were supposed to cover the running costs of the adjacent natatorium, which was built to host swim meets and a diving program. Instead, annual losses are running in the millions of dollars. 2) In 2016, Windsor City Council approved the expropriation of two homes -- and eviction of its residents -- on city-owned airport land for future private economic development. Three years on, the properties are still vacant. 3) The City awarded Premier Aviation and Fedex (in 2012 and 2013 respectively) sweetheart deals at Windsor Airport in exchange for commitments to bring employment to the area. Investigative journalist Alan Halberstadt reported in his September 2018 BizX column that "I have yet to count more than 50 cars in several drives around the parking lot this summer, and on some days I counted significantly fewer than that." After filing several Freedom of Information requests, he was still not able to establish whether these firms met their contractual obligations. 4) Five years after opening the new South West Detention Centre in 2014 on farmland located 13km from downtown Windsor, visitors and employees still have no way to access the jail via public transit. 5) WFCU Centre: This arena, built on Windsor's boundary with the Town of Tecumseh in 2009, replaced the city's downtown arena ("The Barn"). Area hotels and commercial development still have not materialized and there is no redevelopment plan for The Barn. Seven years after opening the facility, Council approved $400k in upgrades to reduce energy costs by $120k/year. 6) Demolition of the historic Norwich Block on Windsor's waterfront to build a glass and steel business tower (the "Canderel Building"): After two decades, the City finally extricated itself from its million+ dollar annual lease commitments in a deal that involved relinquishing ownership of a multi-story parking garage facing the majestic Detroit skyline -- premium residential space in any other city. The list goes on. Windsor residents have good reason to be wary of grandiose decisions made by City Council over their well-articulated, evidence-based objections.

Who does the mayor of Windsor work for? Where does the balance of power lie? Drew Dilkens is now in his fifth year as mayor after two terms as a councillor. For 13 years, he has been in an influential elected position. From his 2018 mayoral campaign finance statement: $72,700 (52%) of his $140,610 election cost was contributed by 94 Windsor residents $68,000 (48%) was paid by 77 donors with addresses outside Windsor $52,850 (38% of total contributions) came from 61 individuals in Essex County (outside Windsor).

Who are the real constituents? While we are not suggesting any financial wrong-doing, the source of Mayor Dilkens' campaign financing is thought-provoking. What could be the implications of so much campaign funding from Essex County residents without voting rights in Windsor?

In their own words: Weekly round-up of comments from our friends and neighbours

"Developers dream, patients nightmare. Also Windsor taxpayers nightmare. .....they gotta pay for the infrastructure to make it all happen. No thought behind project other than developer greed."   "I’ve never seen a major city grow around an airport.. nor mega hospitals across the street from airports." ~ "CAMPP has been presenting legitimate concerns but unfortunately were ignored. It’s too bad that people can’t work together to do what’s right. They would rather pit city residents against county residents as a distraction." ~ "The proposed site is closer to me & I have a car.  I can’t imagine if I was vulnerable & had to rely on public transportation. When I had chemo & radiation & had to go daily or multiple times per week, if I needed a buses, it would be ridiculous & vulnerable don’t have funds for taxis. I feel the vulnerable need better access due to lack of income." ~ "Met and hotel [Dieu] have more beds then they use the problem is they don’t have the funding to open them meaning funding to hire more ppl too. But unfortunately those in support of the hospital itself ignore that problem." ~ "Why don’t they post a poll what the professionals working at the current hospitals think?" ~ "I feel residents of Windsor AND county may be taken aback by potential parking charges.   A cursory look at other newer hospitals that are in more isolated locales comes in at roughly $12 a $15 a day.  Are people okay with that." ~   The Mega hospital idea should have been brought out to the public for some real consultation though 'those in the know' didn't think that average citizens opinions were worthy of consideration.   ~ "We need to make DRASTIC changes to fix things in Windsor.  DRASTIC CHANGES. It won't be the loss of retail or professional offices in the core that will kill our city, it won't be the loss of our hospitals that will kill our city, it won't be closure of nieghbourhood schools, swimming pools, or arenas that will kill our city.  It will be ALL OF THESE THINGS that will lead to the failure and decline of our city. These will all be nail's in the coffin for our home and what will be left is nothing more than a fragmented, disassembled version of what once was a city. We need to wake up and fight for this place if we truly love it.  We simply cannot stand idly by while ignorant politicians and bureaucrats stand with their hands up in the air and do nothing.  The future of Windsor can be vibrant and bright, but not if we fail to take MAJOR action NOW."