Top Windsor mayoral candidates make final weekend push before election

It’s the final weekend before the municipal election and Windsor’s top challengers for mayor aren’t resting on their laurels.

"We get to shed our jackets and get over here and knock on doors. We're not stopping," said Chris Holt, a two-term Ward 4 councillor in Windsor, Ont. who is trying to become Windsor’s next mayor.

Holt says he’s amassed hundreds of volunteers who are spending the last weekend before Election Day pounding the pavement in south Windsor.

Holt built his platform around providing mental health ER services downtown, improving transit and enhancing road user safety.

"Even though it's my name on the sign, It's not ‘the Chris Holt show’ this campaign. This platform has been formed by tens of thousands of people."

Holt says the whole idea of his campaign was to present a viable option for voters, but as momentum built along the way, he feels like he has a realistic chance of getting elected.

"There's been no plateaus in our campaign. It's been building every single day since the middle of July," said Holt. "I feel incredibly good about our possibilities on Monday."

"When historians are going to look at the 2022 election and it's going to be a battle between maintaining and protecting the status quo and moving forward and change," he said.

Meantime, Drew Dilkens spent the morning thanking volunteers and later, knocking on doors in east Windsor.

"Windsor is on the right track and they want to keep us there, I want to keep us there, and that’s what this election is all about, is making sure you keep the momentum going that people are feeling in this city today."

The two-term mayor, who has been on council since 2006, also likes his chances.

"We take nothing for granted I recognize that every mayor since the 1930s in the city of Windsor was elected from the city council. So when you have a sitting city councillor running against you, you should never take that lightly," Dilkens said.

The foundation of the Dilkens campaign consists of three main pillars: getting the new hospital built, affordability and fiscal prudence and enhancing safety and security.

Political watchers believe will be a close race and both candidates say they will be getting out the vote for the remainder of the weekend.

"I'm excited about the next four years and that's only possible if people get up and go out to vote on Monday," said Dilkens. "Let me serve for eight years and I’ll certainly respect the residents of the City of Windsor and encourage them to vote on Monday."

Also running for mayor in Windsor are Aaron Day, Benjamin Danyluk, Louis Vaupotic, Ernie Lamont and Matthew Giancola.

Polls open across the city on Monday at 10 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.