Windsor residents have options in every ward when they vote for mayor and council in October

Heather Kitching · CBC News

· Posted: Aug 21, 2026 1:50 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 21

Local voters now know what their options are when it comes to who to vote for in the October municipal election.

The nomination period officially closed at 2 p.m. Friday.

On Oct. 26, Windsor residents will elect a mayor and 10 councilors.

This story will be updated as last-minute filers are added to the candidate list. Here is how the races are shaping up in the city:

Mayor

Drew Dilkens waited until the day before the nomination deadline to tell reporters he intended to run for a fourth term of office. He held a news conference at noon on Friday to make it official.

Dilkens will face competition from current Ward 1 councillor Fred Francis and nine other contenders, including Kat Pasquach, an artist and business owner and the CEO of Can Am Urban Native Non-Profit Homes.

The full list of candidates is as follows:

• Benjamin Danyluk.
• Aaron Day.
• Drew Dilkens.
• Fred Francis.
• Dylon Graves.
• Tara Grayer.
• Nick Kolasky.
• Tristan Ty Morencie.
• Kat Pasquach.
• Patrick Sutherland.
• Louis Vaupotic.

Ward 1

Darcie Renaud, who challenged Fred Francis for the seat in 2022 and who was running unopposed until this week, now has six challengers, including Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) trustee Linda Qin and retired Windsor Police Service Deputy Chief Frank Providenti. Francis is not running for re-election as a councillor in order to contend for the mayor’s chair. 

Here's the full list of candidates so far: 

• Henry De Cordova.
• Geoffrey D Guttmann.
• Shezi Jaffri.
• Brenda Juarez.
• Frank Providenti.
• Darcie Renaud.
• Linda Qin.

Ward 2

Frazier Fathers, who has held his council seat for less than a year, after winning a byelection to replace Fabio Costante, will have to fight off three challengers to retain that seat – neither of whom contended for it in last year’s byelection. 

Here's the list of candidates so far: 

• Frazier Fathers.
• Anthony Jabbour.
• Nick Markham.
• Cynthia Van Vrouwerff.

Ward 3

In Ward 3, where issues such as poverty, homelessness and crime are top-of-mind for many voters, incumbent Renaldo Agostino, who was first elected in 2022, faces three challengers. One of them, Spiro S. Spiliadis, has gained attention online for posts about homelessness and addiction, including one in which he appeared to take a camera inside the H4 Hub. 

Here's the list of candidates is:

• Renaldo Agostino.
• Rabia Kirma.
• Randal Saccucci.
• Spiro S. Spiliadis.

Ward 4

In Ward 4, residents will have a new representative in the council chambers because the incumbent, Coun. Mark McKenzie, who was elected for his only term in 2022, isn’t running for re-election. Former councillor Chris Holt, who ran for mayor in the last election, is among those running for the council seat.

The full list of candidates is: 

• Mike Burton.
• Catherine Gariepy-Schulze.
• Chris Holt.
• Rasha Zaid.
• Xsander Moisenko.

Ward 5

Residents in Ward 5 are also electing a new councillor in October after Ed Sleiman, a 16-year veteran of council, announced he won’t seek another term. The contenders to replace him include Ken Acton, who also ran for the seat in 2022.

• Ken Acton.
• Farah Ahmed.
• Alessandro Didone.
• Natasha Elizabeth Feghali.
• Shane Potvin.

Ward 6

Ward 6 councillor Jo-Anne Gignac is currently the only woman on council, but she announced in late July that she won’t seek another term of office. The list of seven candidates running to replace her includes Wendi Nicholson, the former president of Windsor-Essex PrideFest, who resigned in November.

The full list of candidates is: 

• Nick Jirgens.
• Denis Marier.
• Hiral Munim.
• Wendi Nicholson.
• Jeremy Renaud.
• Khassan Saka.
• Owen Smith.

Ward 7

In Ward 7, Angelo Marignani, who was elected to council in 2022, faces two challengers, including Beth Ann Prince. Prince is well-known in the charity community because she ran community investment programming for the Windsor Family Credit Union for many years and also led the Windsor Regional Hospital Foundation. 

The full list of candidates is:

• Angelo Marignani.
• Beth Ann Prince.
• Victoria Soluade.

Ward 8

In Ward 8, incumbent Gary Kaschak is seeking a third term of office and has just one challenger: Kevin Racine.

The candidate list so far:

• Gary Kaschak.
• Kevin Racine.

Ward 9

In Ward 9, incumbent Kieran McKenzie was running unopposed until this week, when a local Realtor joined the race. 

The full list of candidates is: 

• Kieran McKenzie.
• Soham Patel.

Ward 10

In Ward 10, incumbent Jim Morrison is seeking a third term of office and will face three challengers.

The full list of candidates is:

• Wally Chafchak.
• Adam Ibrahim.
• Mark Masanovich.
• Jim Morrison.