The race for mayor has begun to take shape in two more Windsor-Essex communities.
One incumbent has officially filed to run for a second term, the other is looking for a promotion to a seat about to be vacated.
According to the Municipality of Leamington, Mayor Hilda MacDonald has thrown her hat into the ring for a second term. In the Town of LaSalle, Deputy Mayor Crystal Meloche is seeking to take the position currently held by Mayor Marc Bondy, who announced to town staff last week that he will not run for re-election.
A photo of Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald. (Courtesy of Hilda MacDonald on Facebook.)
MacDonald beat longtime Mayor John Paterson in the 2018 municipal election. Her service on the municipal council began in 2006 when she began two terms as a councillor. She was elected deputy mayor in 2014.
So far, MacDonald is the only person to file nomination papers for the municipal election in Leamington.
Meloche is also not a newcomer to municipal politics. She was first elected to LaSalle Town Council in 2010 and served two terms. She ran in 2018 for deputy mayor and was acclaimed. Meloche was also the unsuccessful Liberal candidate for Essex MPP in the 2014 Ontario elections, losing to the NDP's Taras Natyshak.
LaSalle Deputy Mayor Crystal Meloche at the Essex County Building, April 2, 2019. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.
According to the Town of LaSalle's official website, Meloche is the only person to file to run as mayor or councillor.
As of Monday evening, two other incumbent mayors have decided not to seek another four-year term, Aldo DiCarlo in Amherstburg, and Ray Durocher of Pelee Island. Windsor's Drew Dilkens, Essex's Richard Meloche, Nelson Santos of Kingsville, Lakeshore's Tom Bain, and Gary McNamara of Tecumseh have yet to announce their intentions.
All candidates are considered unofficial until the nomination period closes and the paperwork is certified by the appropriate municipal clerk.
The nomination period closes on August 19, with the election on October 24.