1997 Windsor municipal election explained

The 1997 Windsor municipal election was held in the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario, to elect a mayor, councillors and school trustees.

Results

• Rolly Marentette is a labour activist, and has served for several years as chair of the Windsor District Labour Council's Health and Safety Committee.^[1] He was a member of the Essex County District Health Council in the mid-1990s, but was not reappointed by the provincial government of Mike Harris in 1996.^[2] He was also a board member of the Community Care Access Centre until 2002, when he resigned to protest the provincial government's management policies.^[3] Marentette has been involved with local environmental groups such the Windsor and District Clean Water Alliance, and was actively involved in composting and recycling projects in the early 1990s.^[4] In 1998, he called for improved safety measures in the farming sector.^[5] Marentette is a member of the New Democratic Party.^[6]
• Gail Zdyb is a community activist. She gained local fame in the late 1990s for opposing liquor-licensed establishments in the Ouellette Avenue region.^[7] Zdyb argued that these bars were frequented by rowdy patrons, many of whom came from the United States.^[8] In 2003, she supported a ban on new entertainment lounges in the city centre.^[9]
• Robert Joseph Potomski is a businessman, and a frequent candidate for public office. He campaigned for the second Windsor council ward in 1985, 1988, 1997 and in a 2002 by-election, and also campaigned for a seat on the Roman Catholic Separate School Board in 1991, 2000 and 2003. He is seeking the latter position again in 2006. He was thirty-eight years old in 1988, and was described as a frequent critic of the city's spending policies.^[10] Potomski was later treasurer of the parents' association at St. James school, and was involved in a controversy over how to spend $10,000 raised for school improvements.^[11] He supported deregulation of the city's taxicab industry in 1993.^[12]

Notes and References

1. "Workers-Mourning", Broadcast News, 27 April 2006, 01:56 report; Mark Stewart and Anne Jarvis, "Noisy casino crowds worry area residents", Windsor Star, 27 April 1994, A3; "Media advisory - 2nd International (RSI) Repetitive Strain Injury Awareness Day" [news release], Canada NewsWire, 21 February 2001, 15:07 report; "Media Advisory - Canadian Auto Workers, Windsor and District Labour Council, Workplace Safety and Insurance Board - Father of deceased young worker to address Windsor-area students", 12 April 2002, 13:59 report.
2. Brian Cross, "Tories flex muscle on health postings", Windsor Star, 7 June 1996, A3.
3. Don Lajoie, "'Takeover' behind CCAC resignations", Windsor Star, 25 January 2002, A1.
4. "A strike for clean water alliance funds", Windsor Star, 6 November 1989, A5; " U.S. admires Canada's Green Revolution", Calgary Herald, 26 March 1990, B3.
5. Sharon Hill, "Labour to pursue farm safety issues", Windsor Star, 12 August 1998, A5.
6. https://web.archive.org/web/20071009150129/http://www.windsorwestndp.ca/exec.html Windsor West NDP (cached article)
7. Roseann Danese, "Plan for mega-bar goes to council", Windsor Star, 6 April 1998, A3.
8. Don Lajoie, "Licence application ignites furore", Windsor Star, 30 September 1998, A3.
9. Dave Hall, "Bar ban extended", Windsor Star, 7 August 2004, A2.
10. Marty Beneteau, " They're off and running!", Windsor Star, 18 October 1988, A5.
11. Anne Jarvis, "Dad asking court to end 'harassment'", Windsor Star, 4 February 1992, A3.
12. Lauren More, " Report advises against cab deregulation", Windsor Star, 27 February 1993, A3.