Ward 1- Essex Centre candidates share opinions and ideas during Municipal Election Debate Night

by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative

Ahead of the October 26, 2026 Essex Municipal Election, the Essex Free Press invited the Mayoral, Ward 1 – Essex Center, and Ward 2 - McGregor area candidates to participate in a Debate Night at the Essex Center Sports Complex on the evening of Tuesday, September 29.

It was a night dedicated to being engaged in local politics and learning about the platforms of the local candidates before heading to the polls later this month.

Around 100 individuals took the time to attend in person to hear what candidates had to say.

The debate was hosted by the Essex Free Press and moderated by Sylene Argent, Editor/Lead Reporter.

The Debate Night was broken down into three sessions, giving candidates competing for the same seat the opportunity to tackle questions together.

Leading up to the debate, the Essex Free Press welcomed the community to provide questions for consideration and had a great response.

"That really means people are engaged, and that's what we like to see in our community as the local newspaper," Argent said. "We believed it was our civic duty to host the event, and we were thrilled with the number of questions forwarded ahead of time, in addition to the amazing attendance at the debate."

Ahead of heading into the debate sessions, Rob Shepley was provided an opportunity to address the crowd as Deputy Mayor for this past term. He will return for the next Term of Council as he was unchallenged for the position this election. 

He took the opportunity to recognize all the candidates who put their name forward, noting he is well aware of the work that goes into a campaign – from door knocking, to answering phone calls, and losing family time while trying to engage with the community. 

"Putting your name on the ballot means putting yourself and your ideas out in front of your community, and that takes a commitment," Shepley said, adding that when you put your name out there, you also get to hear what people think about you. 

Questions through the night ranged from fiscal responsibility, budgeting, infrastructure projects, flooding, small business support, drainage capacity, growth, and why candidates believe they are the best fit for the position. 

In terms of Ward One, there are five individuals seeking one of two positions on Essex Council. That includes incumbents Joe Garon and Katie McGuire-Blais. Challengers for the positions include local journalist and author Fred Groves, organic gardener and past small business owner Andrew George, and former Ward 1 Councillor Randy Voakes.

Garon is Chairperson of the Essex Fun Fest, serves on the Board for the Essex 73s, and is a small business owner. He said he is running on a track record of practical, common-sense decision-making, in addition to offering drama-free, no-nonsense governance. 

George said he is running on a campaign of resiliency. He would like to bring low-cost and no-cost projects to the town that are simple to implement, such as community gardens, taking food that's grown there and bringing it to the food bank, and tool rentals at the library. He would also like to have the Essex Center BIA dollars turned from a coupon program into a legit, year-round community currency.

Groves said he has been involved in quite a few activities and committees over the years, including the Town of Essex's Affordable Housing Task Force, and volunteers at the John R. Park Park Homestead, the Essex Fun Fest, Santa's Village, and with the Essex Minor Baseball Association. He believes in having an accurate, fair, and unbiased approach to Council.

McGuire-Blais served as the Council liaison on the Essex Center BIA and is a member of the Essex Fun Fest and Santa Village committees. She moved to Essex 14-years ago with her husband and two twin boys. Serving on Council for the past four-years has given her a great appreciation for the opportunities and challenges facing the community. She’s worked hard to be accessible to residents, ask questions, and follow up when concerns are brought forward. 

Voakes spent 33-years at Chrysler, and also spent three terms on Council for the Town of Essex. He is married to his wife, Shelley, and father to his late daughter, Priscilla. He decided to re-run for Council as a result of being retired. Previously, he said he worked hard for residents when he was on Council. He can work harder now that he is retired. 

In terms of what candidates would like to see out of the 2027 budget, George said no one could afford tax increases. He said there's a bunch of big-ticket items the Town wants to come through with, namely the Sports Fields off of Batten Side Road. He said he has people saying the Town is not consulting them and the proposed design is not adequate for the teams or groups who want to use it. He wants to look at redesigning the sports fields. 

Groves noted there are economic struggles currently. Essex has an $80M budget. He said there was a 2.66% tax increase last year. There could not be a 0% tax increase because of the cost of inflation. To maintain services, taxes need to be raised. Four percent or more is not possible. He does believe right now in a freeze in the number of employees the Town has and empower them with more training to reduce money spent on contracted services. 

For McGuire-Blais, she also believes that a 0% tax increase could not be sustained. The total tax increase last year was 3.4%, and she believed that was high. A 2% or 2.2% tax increase is reasonable. Looking at the operating cost to find potential savings and a hiring freeze are options. Updating roads and infrastructure is something the Town should be spending its money on.

Voakes said that without increases, the municipality falls behind. Previously, even though tax increases were minimized, the result was the deterioration of the municipality. He's an advocate of modest, needed tax increases. Town staff is responsible for coming to Council with recommendations. He realizes the sports fields off of Batten Side Road isimperative to have completed as quickly as possible. 

Garon commented that residents want roads and amenities, and that takes money. Since COVID, the cost of doing business is even greater than what it was prior. Those on Council are not exempt from tax increases; they have to pay them as well, and that is in the back of their minds when making decisions about the budget. In 2024 and 2026, there were increases not seen before in the past. He said they fell pretty much in line with national and provincial levels. It's tough to catch up with aging infrastructure with a 0% increase in taxes. He would be mindful in making tax increase decisions. 

In terms of thoughts on the sale of E.L.K Energy and how this Term of Council handled the proceeds, Groves didn't want to dwell on what happened to the past. He did agree with what Council did with the money. He said there's $15M that's going to go into a Legacy Fund, and the Town has an Asset Management Plan that constantly needs to be watched. He said there's somewhere around $500,000 a year in interest that will be made off of E.L.K. proceeds in interest, which could go towards great projects. He is proud of this Term of Council for selling E.L.K. at this time. 

McGuire-Blais was proud of the decision to sell E.L.K., having been a Councillor the past term. She said there was a desire to keep the utility if possible, but it was not financially responsible. The Town received $31M for the utility, which ended up being around $21.9M after lawyer and other fees. Part of the proceeds went towards funding the Town Hall expansion, the Essex Sports Fields, and Fire Station 3 in Harrow. All of which are important projects. She's proud of that. The remaining $15M goes into a Legacy Fund, with 70% of the interest – around $600,000 a year – going back into infrastructure, 10% into core capital projects, and 20% reinvested back into the system. That's money taxpayers don't have to pay that the Town is earning as interest. 

Voakes said if you take the sale of E.L.K. and put it towards the development of the Essex Sports fields, it's pretty straightforward stuff. 

Garon said he was in favour of the E.L.K. sale. It wasn't a decision made overnight. He said the Board of Directors in the past were focused on paying down debt. The intent of getting the utility in the first place was to keep rates down and to have dividends. He said the Town really wasn't realizing dividends. He was only going to be on board with the sale of E.L.K. if the Town was going to be locking up money long-term to earn interest that could be put into capital projects. 

George said he created a 14-video series on the E.L.K. sale. He said he went very in-depth into the issue. He voiced concerns about the timeline of the sale of the E.L.K. utility and the possibility of a Board raise in that time frame. He believes the Legacy Fund is a terrible decision. He believes the $15M in the fund is being invested in Municipal Bonds, which he said are not doing well currently. 

Several more questions were asked of the candidates. A livestream was recorded by a resident. There is a link to it on the Essex Free Press website, www.essexfreepress.com.