Diodati says aggressive work paying off for city
Jim Diodati opened his reelection campaign in May, but his fight started in July.
The 53-year-old two-term mayor of Niagara Falls filed his election papers with the city clerk May 1, the day nominations opened. And for the next nine weeks his path to a third term looked clear.
Then came July.
That first weekend, he entered hospital suffering from a persistent cough, exhaustion and night sweats. He thought it was pneumonia.
By mid July, Diodati had two opponents — neither with any prior political experience — and the July 27 registration deadline was just two weeks off.
Then on July 23, Diodati shocked residents with an announcement on the city's website confirming he'd been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer. Two days later, longtime city councillor and former MPP Kim Craitor announced he too was running for mayor.
Suddenly, Diodati found himself battling on two fronts. For his health and his job. He's winning the first one.
“The good news is, this week I'm at the halfway point of my chemo treatments,” he told the TV audience during the televised Cogeco mayoral debate.
He's lost weight and his hair is thinning — thank the chemotherapy for that — but his energy level in the debate had to be reassuring for those concerned for his health.
To win the battle for a third term, he points to three issues he's played a central role in shaping and which, he says, are all on the verge of transforming the city: A new hospital in 2022, regular GO train service in 2023 and a partnership with Ryerson University to open an entrepreneurial centre in Niagara Falls, which he said is only awaiting approval from FedDev Ontario.
The deal Diodati said he and senior city hall staff negotiated with the province to get a share of casinos' revenue has brought about $100 million extra into the city in the past four years.
That, he said during a lengthy interview with the Review, has let Niagara Falls keep tax hikes at or below the rate of inflation and pay down its debt by $14 million.
Diodati said public works director Geoff Holman estimates the city is 10 years ahead of where it would normally be in road and sewer repairs, because of the casino funding the city gets. Chippawa especially has been a priority for infrastructure work. In the past two years, Diodati added, the city has been able to update and upgrade 22 of its parks.
“Every other municipality is envious of the position we're in (with the OLG agreement), but it didn't happen on its own,” he said.
At the same time, “we're doing longterm visioning things. Just like the GO train — I say it’s not about a train, this is about connecting to the good jobs in the GTA.”
During the Cogeco debate, Craitor said after eight years it’s time for a new mayor, accusing Diodati of having “all these wonderful, pie-in-the-sky ideas.”
“We've been over-promised so many things, but really we've been under-delivered for the last eight years,” Craitor said, in a slap at Diodati's tenure.
Craitor is running on a platform largely geared toward fixing the city as it is — a slowdown on development until better infrastructure is in place, better local bus service before moving ahead on regional transit.
He has also knocked Diodati for a lack of leadership at regional council, which has been embroiled in controversies over spending on the new Burgoyne Bridge and the buyout of the former police chief, as well as the process used to hire a chief administrative officer.
In the interview, Diodati acknowledged problems at regional council, which he said have made it difficult to get business done there.
The Oct. 22 election, he said, is “going to be like hitting the reset button. That's exactly what it needs. It needs a reset.”
The larger role as Diodati sees it is outside of council chambers, in the city and beyond its borders. Niagara Falls is more than a city, he said, it’s a brand known worldwide.
He says it’s about being aggressive, something he learned during his years in business before being elected mayor.
When he got resistance to GO expansion at Queen’s Park, he said, “my exact words were, ‘I’m too stupid to stop, minister. I will never stop until you put a shovel in the ground and you tell me it’s being built’
“I learned how to fight for things. Nobody gives you anything.”
On being mayor, he said, “for me it's been an absolute honour to do this job ... I love this job. I jump out of bed every morning to do it.” he said.