‘There is hope’ against election incumbents
He was the giant-killer, the story of the election in 1994. Now, retiring Coun. Bill Marra has something to say to rookie candidates like Terry Yaldo, who’s taking on three-term veteran Jo-Anne Gignac in Ward 6 in the municipal election Oct. 22. Incumbents can be beaten. Marra was 28, recently graduated and starting his career as a probation and parole officer when he decided to run in Ward 4, which then stretched from Walker Road to Jefferson Boulevard.
He faced the two most veteran councillors. Retired teacher Tom Toth had represented the ward since 1967 — 27 years. He had been on council more than twice as long as any other councillor. Everyone knew his name. He was unbeatable — or so people thought.
High school teacher Dave Cassivi, the other incumbent when there were five wards and two councillors in each ward, had been on council since 1982, 12 years. He had won the most votes in the last election, 1,700 more than even Toth.
Even the other challenger, Roy Oney, had more experience. He’d run in 1988 and 1991.
Marra was chairman of the Citizens Crime Prevention Committee and represented the committee in a presentation to council. He wasn’t satisfied with council’s response. The program should be improved, and public safety should be more of a priority, he believed.
He complained about it to family and friends. So do something, they told him.
“I decided to run,” he said. Cassivi and Toth were frosty. Cassivi encouraged Marra to run for the school board instead, saying he’d have a much better chance. He warned voters that it would be risky to change councillors when the city was finally enjoying more jobs and investment after the recession in 1990. “I think there’s something to be said for the ... depth of experience we have,” Toth said at the time. The two incumbents endorsed each other.
Even Marra considered himself a “long shot.”
Did he think he had a chance? “No,” he remembered this week. His goal?
“I didn’t want to embarrass myself.”
He figured either Toth or Cassivi would retire soon, and if he didn’t win this election, he could win the next one.
“My No. 1 priority was to show well, present as a viable candidate,” he said. “If I was not successful, I would position myself to run in the next election.”
Few people knew who he was. He didn’t have much to put on his pamphlet because he didn’t have much of a resume yet. He could only afford cardboard signs. He had to replace them when it rained. Finally, he bought a roll of plastic and wrapped it around his signs.
He leveraged the only two advantages he had: his job, which provided credibility when he talked about public safety, and the energy of youth.
“I believe I literally outworked the other three candidates,” he said. “I knocked on 5,000 doors. I knocked on more doors than probably all three of them combined. I worked my tail off.” His strategy was to meet as many people as he could. He reasoned that if people met him, they’d at least hear him out and “at least I’d have a better chance.” He had one other advantage. There were only four candidates for two positions, not a lot to split the vote.
And Toth made a mistake. He allegedly bullied a city employee who endorsed Marra, ordering her to withdraw her endorsement and endorse him instead. It was a front-page story. A week to 10 days before the election, Marra’s phone began ringing regularly. There were more requests for signs. He even ran out of signs.
“I was starting to get the sense I’d do okay,” he recalled. On election night, he watched the results on television with family and friends. Eventually, one friend told him, “We need to go to city hall. You might win.” Marra defied the odds. He didn’t just beat Toth by 671 votes to become the youngest member of city council. He won every poll except one. He was a new voice on what had been an entrenched council.
What happened?
“I probably didn’t put enough effort into the campaign,” Toth admitted after. “I didn’t think it would be this close.”
After a failed bid for mayor in 2003, Marra won re-election to Ward 4, this time topping the polls, knocking off Cassivi and leaving Ken Lewenza Jr., who shares one of the most recognized names in Windsor, in the dust. He served a total of six terms.
Now, three people are running against Gignac, who won the last election with almost 70 per cent of the vote.
Five are running against veteran Coun. Ed Sleiman in Ward 5. Sleiman, running for his third term, won 57 per cent of the vote last time. Candidate Angelo Marignani is running against incumbent Irek Kusmierczyk in Ward 7 for the third straight time.
“It would have made my life easier,” admitted Yaldo, the 40-year-old owner of Midway Convenience store on Wyandotte Street and treasurer of the Pillette Village BIA, if Gignac hadn’t run again. Still, said Yaldo, who wants to address flooding more quickly, believes the city should hire an auditor general and disagreed with ripping storefronts out of the Pelissier Street parking garage, “if you’re willing, and you have skills to bring to the table, it’s good to step into the conversation.” Councils need change, he said. They need new ideas. “That’s healthy,” he said. He knocks on doors most days to introduce himself to people. He’s planning meet and greet events so voters can ask him questions, “see who I am, if I represent what they’re looking for.” Marra says his story is important for Yaldo and other challengers.
“There is a chance to beat an incumbent,” he said.
But nothing, including social media, beats talking to people, he said. Listen to them. Treat them with respect. Know your neighbourhoods. Be connected to your community.
“I’ve pulled in some pretty good percentages,” he said, to emphasize his point.
He won the last election with 77 per cent of the vote.