Candidates talk homelessness, opioid crisis in Ward 7 virtual debate

Once everyone got the hang of their mute buttons, the likely first ever virtual all-candidates debate went rather smoothly Wednesday for 11 out of 12 candidates vying for the vacant Ward 7 position on city council.

"I thought it turned out very well. Everybody had a chance to speak on a number of issues. I was very pleased," said Niki Carlan, a member of the planning committee for theCanadian Federation of University Women Windsor which hosted the 90 minute plus event on Zoom.

Each candidate got to make an opening statement and closing statement and answer three questions: What do you see as the most pressing issue in Ward 7 and whatcan be done to address it? How do you plan to stay connectedto the ward? And what in your opinion are the most pressing issues for our city?

• Debate organizer hopes to draw attention back to Windsor's Ward 7 byelection

Every candidate had only two minutes to answer and they were muted if they went over time. They were all given the questions in advance so they could prepare their answers but a number of candidates spoke over their time limitand were cut off.

Most candidates identified flooding, infrastructure, Banwell Road improvements and public safety as main issues and while a couple of candidates touched on job creation ideas, Carlan was surprised the concern over the unemployment rateand the issue of migrant workers' rights didn't come up.

"We just lost 1,500 jobs at Chrysler. Those jobs each represent another four to ten jobs in the community," said Carlan.

Many of the candidates picked homelessness, the need for affordable housing and the opioid crisis as the most pressing issues and some said the city needs to press upper levels of government for help.

The 12 candidates running in the Ward 7 byelectionare:

• Igor Dzaic.
• Farah El-Hajj.
• Michelle Gajewski.
• Jeewen Gill.
• Barbara Holland.
• Ernie Lamont.
• Greg Lemay.
• Mike Malott.
• Angelo Marignani.
• Thrse Papineau.
• Albert Saba.
• Howard Weeks.

Ernie Lamont did not attend the debate.

The byelection is scheduled for Oct. 5 at the WFCUCentre.