DILKENS VS. BORTOLIN
Mayor deals with political divide on city council
“Political hypocrisy,” said Mayor Drew Dilkens about those on city council who opposed a $750,000 investment to restore Windsor’s last existing streetcar.
“Not appropriate and a bit misleading,” Ward 3 Coun. Rino Bortolin, one of those opposers, wrote on Facebook about the mayor’s comments to media after council’s vote.
The majority of council’s approval for the heritage project is now in the books, and the 99-year-old streetcar — Trolley No. 351 — will be restored as an authentic piece of Windsor history.
But the shots exchanged between Dilkens and Bortolin, and the outcome of the vote — the usual 6-4 split, plus the mayor’s vote in favour — could be seen by city hall watchers as the latest example of the stubborn divide on Windsor council.
“I think it’s fairly obvious, in a lot of cases, on quite a few votes, there is a divide of 6-4,” Ward 9 Coun. Hilary Payne said on Friday. “I’m not exactly sure why it’s there, though.”
Payne said he usually finds himself one of the six in the “6-4” split, but not always. For example, he voted in favour of the streetcar restoration, but in opposition to another controversial city project, the mayor’s plan for a $3-million holiday light display in Jackson Park (subsequently trimmed to $1.5 million by the mayor following a public uproar).
“Fairly frequently, six members of council, including myself, most of the time, vote one way. Usually whichever direction the mayor is going in. And the other four vote the other way,” Payne explained.
“This has been going on now for over two years. I’ve never completely understood it. I follow the principle that we’re free to vote the way we want. It so happens that six people tend to form the same opinion, and four people tend to hold opposite opinions.”
Payne said he’s not on Facebook and hasn’t seen Bortolin’s posts.
Bortolin isn’t the only one at city hall who uses social media.
Dilkens also recently took to Facebook to call out Bortolin for remarks he made to the Star about not being able to get $3,000 in city funding for an alley light “where that person got beat up and raped last week.”
“For Coun. Bortolin to suggest that there was a rape in an alley last week is both irresponsible and completely untrue,” the mayor told his Facebook followers.
“The Windsor Police Service has not received any reports of sexual assaults in alleys last week, or anytime this year for that matter!”
Dilkens opined that using false allegations of public safety to score political points is “just plain wrong.”
Responding on Facebook, Bortolin apologized for his “poor choice of words,” but doubled down on his criticism that issues such as alley maintenance remain unaddressed while millions of city dollars are devoted to other projects.
“Let’s not get sidetracked as to what the real issue is here. Residents are frustrated by the stated priorities of this council and mayor,” Bortolin wrote.
Reached Friday, both Dilkens and Bortolin said their relationship remains professional.
“I work very hard with members of council who are interested in connecting. There are some who choose not to do that, and that’s their right as well,” Dilkens said. “I’ll continue to work with any member of council.”
Bortolin said it’s evident he and the mayor have “different visions of the city, different priorities,” but he also thinks they have “a good amount of respect” for each other as well.
Their media and Facebook battles aside, there has been no personal conversation between them for some time.
“I’m not really sure what going to talk to (the mayor) would accomplish,” Bortolin said.
Dilkens insisted his door remains open to all councillors. “If Coun. Bortolin wants to come in and sit down and talk about issues that are important to him and to Ward 3, I’m happy to meet at any time. And he knows that.”
Dilkens and Bortolin also both feel that the so-called “6-4” split has been overstated.
“That’s exaggerated,” Bortolin said. “This idea that there are voting blocks, I think that’s ridiculous.”
Said Dilkens: “It doesn’t affect my productivity. I keep moving forward.”
But will public perception of a council divide be a factor in the next municipal election, now just a year away?
“Right now, I’m committed to delivering the promises I made three years ago,” said Dilkens, who declined to say if he will run for reelection.
Bortolin said he will seek another term as Ward 3 councillor.
And perhaps the “6-4” split on council isn’t an inherently bad thing. “That’s democracy, that’s how it works,” said University of Windsor political science professor Lydia Miljan.
“The fact remains, they were all elected. If the people who are consistently voting in opposition to the majority aren’t happy, that’s fine, they’re still able to express their views, offer suggestions and criticisms. In the long term, they can make their case to the electorate.”
“That’s the nature of democracy. We have debate, we have disagreement. This idea that we all get along all the time is actually not helpful,” said Miljan.