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These are just a small subset of the outpouring of help from people, he said, many of them anonymously offering money and other resources with no desire for recognition. He’d call to ask for help and they would offer it before he finished his first sentence.
Every mayor says they love their city, Dilkens said.
“Of course I do, I’ve lived here my whole life. But this last year has certainly reaffirmed it, underscored it in bold, punctuated, highlighted — all those words to underscore the appreciation and respect I have for the people here.”
When he decided in 2018 to run for re-election, he could never have imagined the calamities that he would deal with in 2020, said Dilkens, who has been front-and-centre in the community response.
Not only was he ordering the shutdown of city facilities, toughening closure rules for businesses, advocating for the city at the federal and provincial level, distributing free hand sanitizer to businesses and individuals, and promoting city initiatives like waiving fees and loosening regulations for outdoor patios for struggling restaurants. He also waded into the outbreaks among migrant workers at greenhouse operations in Leamington and Kingsville, pushing the government for solutions that would permit the entire region to graduate into less-restrictive rules that allowed many suffering businesses to reopen.
“It has been my absolute pleasure — I know this sounds ridiculous but I mean it — to be here at this time,” Dilkens said.
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