Most people vote in municipal elections on roads, taxes and policing. But if you care about what housing costs in Windsor-Essex, this is the most important ballot you’ll cast.

Councils decide what can be built and where (zoning), how much a new home pays before a shovel goes in (development charges and permit fees), how long approvals take, and whether the pipes and drains exist to serve new neighbourhoods. Under Ontario’s strong mayor rules, the mayor’s chair carries even more weight on housing than it used to.

I’ve looked at the two leading mayoral candidates in Windsor and each of the seven Essex County towns, focused only on housing. Where a candidate is an incumbent, I’ve leaned on their record, because what a council actually did is the best guide to what it will do. Where a candidate hasn’t put out a housing position, I say so.

A quick note: I’m not endorsing anyone. This is meant to help you ask better questions before you vote.

Windsor: Drew Dilkens vs. Fred Francis

Eleven people are running, but the race is between the three-term incumbent and a long-time Ward 1 councillor.

Drew Dilkens (incumbent) is running on his record. His signature program, Housing Solutions Made for Windsor, takes surplus city land, makes it shovel-ready and offers it to builders. The first downtown project, 48 units on a former parking lot on Pelissier Street, broke ground in August. Other sites include the Roseland golf property and the former Grace Hospital site. Windsor started 2,306 homes in 2024, more than double its provincial target. In March he used strong mayor powers to ask staff for options to waive development charges on purpose-built multi-unit projects permitted in 2026. Late in the campaign he also proposed moving the Downtown Mission and Positive Pathways to the city’s homelessness and housing hub. He has said a fourth term would be his last.

Fred Francis (challenger) has made affordable housing his top priority. His plan, released at the Grace Hospital site on October 13, would waive building permit fees for affordable housing projects, cut development charges through cost-sharing with the provincial and federal governments, and set firm timelines for development applications. He opposes strong mayor powers and says he would not use them, which matters because those powers were designed to speed up housing decisions.

The difference: Dilkens is betting on using city land and city powers to push supply; Francis is betting on lowering fees and fixing the approvals process, with council rather than the mayor driving decisions.

Amherstburg: Michael Prue vs. Chris Gibb

Michael Prue (incumbent) is a former East York mayor and former NDP MPP who was his party’s critic for municipal affairs and housing at Queen’s Park. His campaign leans on keeping taxes low, pointing to what it says was the smallest tax increase in Essex County in 2026. This term, council adopted a new Official Plan running to 2051 that calls for a wider mix of housing, including affordable options.

Chris Gibb (deputy mayor) is a long-time local business owner. He frames the election around managing growth that is coming regardless, while protecting the town’s small-town and historic character. He has noted Amherstburg leans heavily on residential taxpayers, and wants growth that broadens the tax base. As deputy mayor he championed the Official Plan process, which projects roughly 14,000 more residents over 30 years.

The difference: Both accept growth. Prue’s pitch is affordability through low taxes; Gibb’s is growth that pays its own way and keeps the town’s look. Retired police chief Bill Fryer is also running.

Essex: Sherry Bondy vs. Trevor Menard

Neither candidate has made housing the centre of the campaign. The debate has been about taxes, flooding and industrial growth, all of which decide how much new housing the town can support.

Sherry Bondy (incumbent) wants long-term financial planning to stabilize tax increases, and investment in commercial and industrial space in Essex Centre and Harrow.

Trevor Menard (challenger), a long-time volunteer firefighter, wants to build the industrial base along the Highway 3 corridor so business assessment keeps residential taxes down. He would put capital dollars into roads, water and sewer first.

The housing angle: In Essex, housing growth is being treated as a by-product of infrastructure and the tax base. If you want a direct answer on housing, ask both candidates.

Kingsville: Dennis Rogers vs. Thomas Neufeld

Housing has also been a quieter issue in Kingsville this time.

Dennis Rogers (incumbent) has focused on infrastructure. Under the town’s Kingsville 2040 plan, he says funding for infrastructure needs rose from about 46% to nearly 60% of what’s required. Servicing is what ultimately allows new subdivisions and infill to proceed.

Thomas Neufeld (three-term councillor) is running on transparency and giving residents more say, and criticized the council structure used this term. Both candidates want to broaden the tax base, and both oppose AI data centres in town.

The housing angle: No detailed housing platform from either front-runner surfaced in campaign coverage. Mary Ellen Havlik and Roshan Nallaratnam are also on the ballot.

Lakeshore: Tracey Bailey vs. Sam Sinjari

Tracey Bailey (incumbent) ran in 2022 arguing Lakeshore’s Official Plan was keeping affordable housing out, and promised a social and affordable housing strategy. This term she has championed “gentle density” and new housing forms through the Lakeshore Horizons partnership, framed as a way to add homes without giving up farmland and green space. When residents petitioned against redeveloping Oakwood Park, she paused the process and said it did not fit that approach.

Sam Sinjari (challenger) is a local businessman and philanthropist pitching himself as a full-time mayor. He says growth is inevitable but must be managed: infrastructure and housing should keep pace, and new development should fit the character of existing neighbourhoods.

The difference: Bailey offers a defined density-and-affordability agenda with a record attached. Sinjari’s emphasis is execution and neighbourhood fit, with specifics still developing. Argo Pace is also running.

LaSalle: Crystal Meloche vs. Shaun Dass

LaSalle has the sharpest debate in the county over who pays for growth, with thousands of new homes planned, including in the Howard-Bouffard area.

Crystal Meloche (incumbent) is backing growth with incentives. The town applied to the province’s Development Charge Reduction Program, seeking money to cut municipal development charges on eligible new homes by 100% for three years. She says drainage work in Howard-Bouffard is being planned before development, and that development charges cover much of the cost of growth.

Shaun Dass (challenger) argues easing charges for developers has not lowered existing residents’ taxes, and says a 0% tax increase was possible this year. He points to flooding in established parts of LaSalle as a warning for Howard-Bouffard and has raised concerns about congestion and construction disruption.

The difference: Meloche says incentives and planning will make growth work; Dass says current residents are carrying too much of the cost. Michael Macri is also running. Note: LaSalle votes online only, and voting is already open.

Leamington: Hilda MacDonald vs. Cris Biron

Hilda MacDonald (incumbent, seeking a third term) has one of the most hands-on housing records in the county. Leamington bought two former school sites to drive affordable housing. A deal with a developer to build attainable housing on the former high school property fell apart in early 2025, with the town saying the terms weren’t in taxpayers’ interest. The town has also backed a tiny-home community for youth with The Bridge, funded through a federal-provincial program, and approved new subdivisions and apartment buildings. She has said housing isn’t formally a lower-tier responsibility, but the town has acted anyway.

Cris Biron (challenger) is a licensed paralegal and community advocate running a second time against MacDonald. He listed affordable housing as a priority in 2022; a detailed 2026 housing platform did not surface in campaign coverage.

The difference: A long, mixed record of trying things versus a challenger without a published plan. Ask Biron directly.

Tecumseh: Gary McNamara vs. Joe Bachetti

This is the clearest housing referendum in the region.

Gary McNamara (incumbent) supported Tecumseh’s federal Housing Accelerator Fund deal, which required allowing up to four units on residential lots. He argues entry-level homes are out of reach for first-time buyers and that seniors are leaving town because there’s nothing to downsize into. He says rejecting the deal cost the town about $3.2 million and hurt its shot at another $14 million.

Joe Bachetti (deputy mayor) led the opposition to four units as-of-right, calling it “four units as a wrong.” Council voted it down in July 2025, and CMHC later told the town it was in breach of the agreement. He argues the province already allows three units per lot with little uptake, that Tecumseh has land to grow on without adding density to established neighbourhoods, and that other funding programs will come.

The difference: More housing types in existing neighbourhoods (McNamara) versus protecting established neighbourhoods and growing on new land (Bachetti).

What Ties It Together

Five issues run through almost every race.

• Density in existing neighbourhoods. Tecumseh is fighting about it openly. Lakeshore has embraced “gentle density.” Windsor turned down fourplexes everywhere earlier in this term.
• Development charges. Windsor is studying waivers, LaSalle wants the province to fund a full rebate, and Francis wants fee waivers for affordable projects. Dass is the strongest skeptic.
• Public land. Windsor and Leamington have both tried to turn municipal land into housing, with mixed results. Lakeshore shows how fast residents push back when that land is a park.
• Infrastructure and flooding. In LaSalle, Essex and Kingsville, pipes and drainage are the real limit on how fast homes get built.
• The tax base. Essex and Kingsville candidates want industrial growth to ease residential taxes, which shapes how much growth they’re willing to fund.

Five Questions to Ask at the Door

• Would you allow up to four units on a residential lot? Why or why not?
• Do you support reducing development charges, and who covers the gap?
• What is your target for approving a complete development application?
• Which municipal properties would you put toward housing?
• What infrastructure has to be built before the next subdivision can proceed, and how will it be paid for?

Vote on October 26, or earlier: advance voting is open in most of the region. Check your municipality’s website for times and locations.

Russ Lalovich, CCIM, is a commercial and residential real estate broker with RE/MAX Preferred Realty Ltd. in Windsor-Essex. This article summarizes public statements and records and is not an endorsement of any candidate.

This article was originally published on Russel Lalovich’s Substack.