Windsor municipal election, 1997
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
| Candidate | Total votes | % of total votes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Masse | 3,425 | 26.20 | |
| (x) Peter Carlesimo | 2,865 | 21.91 | |
| Jim Bennett | 2,491 | 19.05 | |
| Rolly Marentette | 1,613 | 12.34 | |
| George Dadamo | 1,587 | 12.14 | |
| Gail Zdyb | 597 | 4.57 | |
| Robert Potomski | 496 | 3.79 | |
| Total votes | 13,074 | 100.00 |
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]