Mayor Drew Dilkens has 'no regrets' for 2017, is optimistic for the new year
Mayor talks marijuana, Amazon, Bright Lights, and answers your burning questions
Mayor Drew Dilkens believes Windsor has a lot to celebrate in the year that was.
With 2017 coming to a close CBC Windsor News at 6 host Arms Bumanlag sat down with Dilkens for a year-end interview to talk about roads, his regrets and what the city's next council could look like.
Rough roads have long been a concern in the city, what do you have to say to those who feel not enough is being invested in Windsor's infrastructure?
"I think, frankly, that we spend a lot of money on roads and sewers. I think we've increased that spend dramatically over the years we're going to continue moving forward to make huge investments in roads and sewers but you have to be able to find the balance and serve a lot of different needs in the city and that's what we're doing."
What do you think the upcoming legalization of marijuana means for Windsor?
"There's no doubt, at least in the short-term, it will be a bit of a novelty with folks coming over here from Detroit because it's legal. Eventually over time it will adjust and normalize, probably much like an LCBO store.
It's important that police have the tools and resources and the funding for training to make sure they can police the community effectively. For the City of Windsor, being a border town, we know what the city was like pre-9/11 when downtown every weekend was a bit of a zoo. I think it's good to worry about it and consider what the impacts will be because it makes you think about the resources you'll need."
Is the city interested in taking over the ownership of Ojibway Shores?
"Make no mistake, three years ago… I put forward a million-and-a-half dollars in the enhanced capital budget for something called 'Acquisition of Environmentally Sensitive Land.' That was always intended for the acquisition of Ojibway Shores. That is the missing piece, in my mind, of the Ojibway complex and the piece of the puzzle that once we secure will allow us to connect all of the elements of Ojibway together. We've been very clear from the beginning we think it's an important piece of land and should be protected."
What do you see as the benefits and drawbacks of connecting with the community through social media?
"To the extent that someone wants to engage in a positive dialogue on how we can make the city better, stronger, improve the services we deliver and make life better for everyone here I love having those conversations. If everything you have to say is negative, that just goes in the trash bin because to me that's just noise.
I think people are really smart in my city and people who go online and complain about every single issue … life is not that bad, the city is not that bad. I know that and most people know that. If you parse those folks."
What do you consider your big victories in 2017?
"There are so many successes in 2017. For me it starts at the beginning of the year was our Windsor 125th birthday year, we had a number of events from the Great Canadian flag project, Open Streets and now wrapping up here with the Bright Lights Festival. We hosted the Memorial Cup and actually having our Spitfires pull the rabbit out of the hat and win was absolutely incredible for our community.
I think looking at the hospital and seeing the hospital move ahead … is just huge. I think Amazon is a huge opportunity for the City of Windsor and partnering with the City of Detroit on that bid. Whether we are successful or not the bid is absolutely spectacular … even if Amazon chooses not to come we can take that document to a number of other great organizations and sell the great business case that we have in this region."
Do you have any regrets from the past year?
"I have no regrets. I don't live my life that way. There are some things I'd like to see done … but OK it's not going to get done in 2017, the goal is to get them done in 2018 then.
I'm excited about the future of this city. Things are really good in this city, things are really good in this region and we want this good feeling and economic situation to go on for as long as it can."
Are you planning to run for mayor again in 2018?
"I'm gonna keep my powder dry. The problem is, if the mayor says 'I'm going to run again,' everything from here on in will be viewed in a political lens, as if I'm only doing something to get re-elected, we haven't even gotten to budget.
There were 12 of us that ran in 2014 for this job and I fully understand why 12 people ran. I'm surprised 212 people didn't run because this is the best job in the city and I love coming to work every single day."
Do you have any ideas for how to get more women on city council?
"If I had the magic answer I would tell you. I have to imagine there are women who look at this who are interested, we see women who have run in the last election but just weren't successful. I hope women step forward and we see some more diversity on council providing different perspectives. I think it's important to have a conversation around the council table that includes different sexes, different religions, different cultural backgrounds, I think you get a richer result at the end of the day."
The mayor answers your questions
Arms also asked the mayor what you wanted to know.
Council transparency
"Wait until we move next door to our new city hall in May of 2018. It's designed and built as a place where the internet was contemplated when it was being constructed. You'll see more improvements including the ability to watch council meetings broadcast online."
Bright Lights 2018?
"We approved $3 million for the spend for Bright Lights in 2017 … the goal was actually to create what I call the spectacular event for the City of Windsor and I think people — the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and I'm quick to remind people we only spent half the money in 2017 and we'll spend the other half in 2018 and it will be a spectacular event."
Dilkens added he hopes the event will continue to expand in the future and grow with the help of sponsors, but all future decisions on the event will be up to council.
Poverty and homelessness
CBC received several questions about poverty and homelessness in Windsor. Here's what the mayor said in response to those concerns.
"No one ought to sleep on the street in the City of Windsor. The city doesn't have the tools .. in their tool box. We just frankly don't. We need to rely on the provincial government for support on the mental health piece, we need the provincial government and the federal government to help on the opioids piece.
If you can get them out of poverty and improve their quality of life that raises a whole bunch of opportunities for their lives and the chance their kids have at success. The focus for me and city council really has been for the last few years … how do we bring additional jobs to Windsor."
-This interview has been edited for length and clarity