Windsor City Councillor Hilary Payne may have very well been the tipping point as to why the WindsorEssex Economic Development CEO is stepping down.
Sandra Pupatello made the announcement Monday afternoon saying a foolish, uninformed councillor and their unwarranted criticisms are hurting the local economy.
Payne has been critical of Pupatello's performance, wanting to see hard facts as to what she's doing and where her time is spent. "I've already decided that I'm not going to go down to her level. I'm going to stay at a higher level," he says.
"This agency has become a political football," Pupatello says, adding that she doesn't want to be the punching bag any longer.
Pupatello says now that she's leaving, she wants to be more straightforward with her critics. She took a few jabs at Payne, calling him "uneducated" and "passed his due date."
She even went as far as saying council should consider censoring Payne because his "unfounded" comments hurt the city.
Payne disagrees. "I think that's just a means of fending off criticism or my statements with the fact that WEEDC has not been producing anything," Payne says.
He says he wasn't being harsh, just doing his job. "My role has always been not to attack or go after Sandra Pupatello per se, but simply to question ... the $2-million of tax money that they're getting each year."
What's next for Pupatello? She says more time with her friends and family is in order. Pupatello also wouldn't rule out reentering politics one day, as she's been approached ever since leaving several years ago.
WEEDC board chairperson Martin Komsa says replacement steps will be taken to find a short-term and long-term successor. "We are truly disheartened with the news and this is certainly the last thing we wanted for the organization but it’s the best thing for Sandra so we will accept it, but with great reservations and disappointment. To have someone of Sandra’s caliber and economic development expertise leave us is not only a great loss to the organization but also to our region."
