Sandra Pupatello is leaving her position as CEO of the Windsor Essex Economic Development Corporation, but isn't going quietly.

Pupatello explained her departure at a media conference on Monday.

"For the first time in a long time, I'm going to make decisions that are right for Sandra,” says Pupatello. “Family and friends are important.”

She says she is leaving to pursue other opportunities. She says she's been approached by political parties but is not saying if she is considering future political life.

“We are truly disheartened with the news and this is certainly the last thing we wanted for the organization," says recently elected chairperson of the board, Marty Komsa. "But it’s the best thing for Sandra so we will accept it, but with great reservations and disappointment.” 

Pupatello and the corporation have been criticized by Windsor councillor Hilary Payne over the past six months. Payne is seeking accountability from the taxpayer funded organization, which collects $1.2 million apiece from the county and the city on an annual basis. Payne was calling for a shake-up of the board and a full-time CEO.

On Monday, Pupatello berated Payne for taking negative jabs at the development corporation, which she says undermines its ability to lure investment.

"We need to be one voice, not all of us, like the mayor and the warden, fighting to be positive, and then you have some uninformed, uneducated councillor who thinks he's going to make a new career when he's way past his due date," she said in a media scrum.

"If he continues this one now, I hope someone will have the strength to really shut him down. He should be censored by the council, or something very dramatic, because what he does is detrimental for the very long term."

Payne responded after Monday's council meeting.

"If she wants to get personal on me, so be it. I just wish her the best on whatever she's going to do," said Payne. "My role has always been not to attack or go after Sandra Pupatello, but simply to question the WEEDC organization as to what results they're getting for the $2 million of tax dollars they're getting each year from the county and the city."

Mayor Drew Dilkens says Payne was not off base with his questions.

"He's not to blame at all. Hilary Payne started the conversation asking a very reasonable and a very valid question, and that's how many jobs has the corporation created in the past year. And there's nothing wrong with that questioning," says Dilkens. "He's accountable to the residents who elected him. We provide WEEDC with 1.2 million dollars each year." 

"Those are the kinds of questions that any CEO at WEEDC should expect to receive," Dilkens said.

The board of directors will be meeting to determine the short term and long term steps required and to plan for Sandra’s successor, says Komsa.

County Warden Tom Bain spoke highly of Pupatello's accomplishments during her two-year tenure on the job. Bain is concerned she will be tough to replace.

"How do you attract someone of Sandra's calibre to come in here and do that job?" He asked. "It's going to be very difficult."

Pupatello's last day will be July 31.