Sleiman enters Windsor city council race, but many incumbents hold off for now

With about two weeks left in the nomination period for the municipal election, another incumbent has thrown his hat into the race. 

Ward 5 Coun. Ed Sleiman announced on Thursday he is seeking re-election to city council. 

"The main priority is to continue the infrastructure spending," said Sleiman. "Specifically in my Ward 5, it's an old, established neighbourhood and the infrastructure is really falling apart."

In Sleiman's ward, there are currently two other contenders seeking the position — Lillian B. Kruzsely and Joey Wright — both young candidates.

Who is running

So far, only three incumbent councillors have officially filed their papers.

Earlier this week, Ward 1 Coun. Fred Francis announced he'll be seeking re-election. Currently he has no competition in that ward. 

Ward 2 Coun. John Elliott was one of the first people to file, which he did in May. Elliott is up against lawyer and activist Fabio Costante in that ward. 

But still, three wards stand with no candidates so far —wards three, four, and seven. 

Ward 3 Coun. Rino Bortolin said he'd consider seeking his spot again, depending on how his run for provincial politics went. Bortolin was not elected to an MPP position, but has yet to officially file municipal papers with the city. 

Wards four and seven incumbents, Chris Holt and Irek Kusmierczyk respectively, have not commented on their plans.

Neither has Ward 6 Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac. Though there is a candidate named in that ward, Josh Jacquot.

Ward 8 will likely see a new councillor in this election, as incumbent Bill Marra has said he doesn't intend to run for council again. Marra is the city's longest-serving councillor, and he currently serves as vice president of external and government affairs at Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare.

Currently, Ward 8 has two new candidates to choose from. They are Greg Lemay and Kathryn MacDonell

​Ward 9 has the most candidates so far with three people seeking a council spot — Alex Aggarwal, Xavier Gonzalez and Kieran McKenzie. It's not clear if incumbent Hilary Payne will run again. 

Ward 10 Coun. Paul Borrelli told CBC News he would seek a spot, however has not officially filed to do so yet. If he does, he'll be up against candidates Mohamed Chams and Jim Morrison.

As for the top spot, four people have announced they're running to be mayor. That's Frank Dyck, Tom Hensel, Ernie Lamont and Matt Machand. Current Mayor Drew Dilkens has not yet officially filed for the position.