Matt Marchand to run for mayor of Windsor, chamber appoints acting president

The municipal election campaign heated up Tuesday, as the spokesperson for Windsor's business community announced he isrunning for mayor.

But Day 1 of his campaign was a little more eventful than he had planned.

In the morning, Matt Marchandmet with reporters outside City Hall with high profile labour leaderDino Chiodo of Unifor at his side.

But by mid-afternoon, there was uncertainty about what Marchand's mayoral bid will mean for his position aspresident and CEO of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce during the campaign period.

The board of directors of the chamber of commerce announced JaniceForsythis stepping in as acting president and CEO.

"We are confident Janice will make a seamless transition into the role with the support of the Chamber Board and Executive Committee and she will continue to effectively serve the needs of our members and the Windsor-Essex Region," read a brief email statement signed by board chair John Clark. He noted Forsyth has served as chair of the chamber in the past.

Meanwhile, Marchandmaintains he is continuing in his role at the chamber.

"I'm on vacation right now, for at least two weeks. I've got a very busy two weeks for the Vote Marchandcampaign for mayor and I look forward to the appropriate time to resume my duties when I get back," he said.

Why he's running

"I love this community, and I've been born and raised here, and I think it's an opportunity to bring people together and bring new ideas, fresh direction," said Marchand.

At a news conference announcing his plans, Marchandemphasized he would like to take more action and be more transparentbut provided little details as to what he will focus onspecifically.

"We're going to be consulting at length withthe community in the coming weeks and we're going to be laying out a specific campaign, a very specific platform," he said.

"It's about what the community thinks," he added.

Marchandis the fourthperson in the race, joining Tom Hensel, Ernie Lamont and Frank Dyck.

Current mayor Drew Dilkens has not yet announced whether he will seek a secondterm.

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