Windsor municipal election, 1997

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. ["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.] 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. [Brian Cross, "Tories flex muscle on health postings", "Windsor Star", 7 June 1996, A3.] 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. [Don Lajoie, "'Takeover' behind CCAC resignations", "Windsor Star", 25 January 2002, A1.] 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. ["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.] In 1998, he called for improved safety measures in the farming sector. [Sharon Hill, "Labour to pursue farm safety issues", "Windsor Star", 12 August 1998, A5.] Marentette is a member of the New Democratic Party. [ [http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:0B4Vf7UdcqoJ:www.windsorwestndp.ca/exec.html+%22Rolly+Marentette%22&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=13 Windsor West NDP (cached article)] , accessed 26 October 2006.]
*Gail Zdyb is a community activist. She gained local fame in the late 1990s for opposing liquor-licenced establishments in the Ouellette Avenue region. [Roseann Danese, "Plan for mega-bar goes to council", "Windsor Star", 6 April 1998, A3.] Zdyb argued that these bars were frequented by rowdy patrons, many of whom came from the United States. [Don Lajoie, "Licence application ignites furore", "Windsor Star", 30 September 1998, A3.] In 2003, she supported a ban on new entertainment lounges in the city centre. [Dave Hall, "Bar ban extended", "Windsor Star", 7 August 2004, A2.]
*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. [Marty Beneteau, " They're off and running!", "Windsor Star", 18 October 1988, A5.] 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. [Anne Jarvis, "Dad asking court to end 'harassment'", "Windsor Star", 4 February 1992, A3.] He supported deregulation of the city's taxicab industry in 1993. [Lauren More, " Report advises against cab deregulation", "Windsor Star", 27 February 1993, A3.]

Footnotes