Affordable-housing consultant Frazier Fathers wins Windsor’s Ward 2 byelection, pledging safer rentals, traffic calming, and better parks for residents.
Local candidate secures west-end seat
In a byelection held Monday in Windsor, Ontario, affordable-housing consultant Frazier Fathers was elected to represent the city’s west end Ward 2, covering the Sandwich neighbourhood and surrounding areas. He received 983 votes, accounting for 47.17 per cent of the total across all 14 polling stations.
Fresh mandate begins amid full field of contenders
Fathers will serve the remainder of the council term—approximately one year ahead of the next municipal election. He emerged victorious from a crowded contest of 15 candidates. His closest rivals were Sam Romano with 259 votes and Nick Amlin with 254 votes.
Platform prioritised safe housing, parks and traffic fixes
During his campaign, Fathers emphasised three core priorities: bringing in traffic-calming measures in his ward, maintaining and improving city parks, and cracking down on unsafe rental housing. A key plank was advocating for a permanent rental-licensing program, which he said would “give the city better data to track problem properties, hold neglectful landlords accountable, and support those who maintain their buildings responsibly.”
Background in community housing and non-profits
Fathers brings to the role experience as a consultant in the non-profit and affordable-housing sector. He spent six years with the United Way of Windsor‑Essex and led the community consultation process for the Gordie Howe International Bridge project’s community-benefits program. He is a resident of Manchester Road in Ward 2, giving him local roots and perspective.
Governance challenges ahead: budget and oversight
One of Fathers’s first tasks will be engaging with the city’s budget process, including with Drew Dilkens, Windsor’s mayor, who holds strong mayor powers and has announced a zero-per-cent tax-increase target. Fathers says he plans to meet with the mayor to align his ward’s priorities—such as sidewalk repairs, street-line painting, and neighbourhood speed bumps—with the city’s broader fiscal direction.
Byelection triggered by councillor’s exit
The byelection followed the resignation of longtime Ward 2 councillor Fabio Costante, who left the post to take leadership of the local community-housing corporation. Costante had served nearly seven years in the role. Fathers’s victory marks a change in representation and a new focus on rental-housing policy and west-end infrastructure.
