Greenhouses big in Leamington economy, big in election race

Most of Essex County’s incumbent mayors have either bowed out of this year’s municipal election race or been acclaimed for another term without having to wage another campaign, but Leamington’s Hilda MacDonald is fighting on, saying she’s got unfinished business.

“There are some things I’d like to see through to completion. If I’m not in the chair, I’m concerned some of that might fall to the wayside,” she said.

Asked for an example, MacDonald, who is finishing her first term as mayor and 16th year on town council, cited the municipality’s recent purchase of the former Leamington District Secondary School with plans to work with the private sector on innovative housing initiatives.

On the issue of housing affordability and tackling homelessness, she said “we’ve made headway over the last four years, and connections have been made. I’m not sure it’s a priority for the other two.”

Those other two vying for the mayor’s job in the Oct. 24 election are Cris Biron, 70, a paralegal whose years of community activism has focused on the local farmworker community, and Jimmy Simoni, 49, who retired in 2021 after selling the family greenhouse vegetable farm.

Simoni election signs can be seen posted in front of many local greenhouse operations. MacDonald concedes there’s been some backlash from that dominant sector of the local economy to her and council’s efforts to address community complaints of light pollution and odour, the latter targeting the town’s sizeable greenhouse cannabis presence.

Housing availability and affordability challenges are also related to the booming success of the greenhouse sector, as growers buy up homes in town to accommodate their workforces, and leading to further citizen concerns over crowding.

“Because we’ve tried to regulate it, it’s seen as negative,” said MacDonald. “The greenhouse industry is very important to the local economy, but with it comes some challenges — we have to think of the community as a whole.”

Biron said better communication is key, both in working with the greenhouse sector and assisting the thousands of foreign guest labourers it employs who work and live in the community, as well as to attract new investment and development. “There’s a lot of red tape,” Biron said, adding he’s heard of two-year waits to obtain permits and licensing for business start-ups in Leamington, and eight-month waits for building repair or upgrade permits.

Asked about any political background experience at the municipal level, such as involvement with committees, boards or agencies, Biron responded: “What you need is somebody able to represent people — my experience is not as a professional politician.”

Like Biron, Simoni complains that local taxes are too high and not enough is being done to fight local crime. Now retired from farming, Simoni said he’s “got a lot of life left in me. I love helping people and I’ve got a lot of time now, I can commit 100 per cent.”

A former board director with the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, Simoni said he’s also “not in favour of the Christmas lights at night time,” which is how he describes the illumination of local evening skies by some greenhouse operations. But he’s critical of the way the town has been tackling the issue, which has led some growers to take the town to court.

“I’d just like to get people together and mend this disconnect we seem to have,” he said. Simoni, who has been a volunteer with Hogs for Hospice since its inception, said he wants the town to “get back to the basics” on security, infrastructure and “eliminating a lot of the red tape.”

Biron said he wants more “transparency” at town hall and that his 35 years as a licensed paralegal presenting cases before tribunals and courts have shown he’s “somebody able to represent people.”

Incumbent Deputy Mayor Larry Verbeke also has two challengers in this election, Shelly Quick and John Tofflemire. Sixteen candidates are vying for five at-large town councillor positions, including three incumbents.

For more on the candidates and the Oct. 24 election, go to Leamington’s Make Your Vote Count webpage.

dschmidt@postmedia.com

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