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The youngest Mayor in the history of the City of Windsor, Eddie
Francis was first elected Mayor in November 2003, and since then, he and
City Council have achieved a record of ambitious accomplishments.
Windsor’s downtown has been and continues to be revitalized.
The establishment of two new downtown campuses for St. Clair College,
the Windsor International Transit Terminal, and the proposed development
of a downtown canal/marina and urban village development, complement a
major expansion of the first ever Canadian Caesars property.
Caesars Windsor is Ontario’s third largest convention centre which
includes a 5,000 seat coliseum and a 400-plus-room hotel tower.
Financially, Windsor is back on the right track.
Mayor Francis was elected on a promise of fiscal reform, and
Windsor’s long-term debt has been slashed from a projected $250 million
in 2004 to $182 million today. It will be further cut to $119
million by 2014. At the same time, Windsor has achieved an average
of a 1 percent tax levy in the past five years.
In response to the global recession, Mayor Francis introduced a
$646 million capitol infrastructure plan – the largest in Windsor’s
history. This aggressive plan will transform our neighbourhoods
and our transportation networks, including Windsor International Airport
(YQG), building a modern, competitive city for commerce and job
creation.
Under the Mayor’s leadership, City Council commissioned a
groundbreaking report which assessed and promoted the need for new
inter-modal transportation systems and border crossings that are fully
integrated with trade routes across North America and beyond. This
report laid the foundation for the future new border crossing and
highway connection, and it resulted in increasing the original $300
million at-grade highway connection to a $1.8 billion roadway and a new
bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit.
Before his election, Eddie Francis ran a very successful small
family business with his brothers. He was awarded the Windsor
Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Award as the Young Entrepreneur
of the Year.
Eddie graduated with a combined undergraduate degree in
chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Western Ontario.
He went on to graduate from the University of Windsor Law School,
completed his articles with international law firm Miller Canfield
Paddock and Stone, and was called to the Bar in 2002. He is a
member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
Eddie Francis is married to Dr. Michelle Prince, a Doctor of
Chiropractic who has a family wellness practice in Windsor. They
have two children, daughter Sienna and son Phoenix.
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