Child poverty and an auditor general highlight first Ward 2 debate

A report that says one out of three children is living in poverty inWindsor-West brought a passionate response from incumbent councillor John Elliott at an electionforum for Ward 2 Tuesday.

"We've done the work we don't talk about it," said Elliott, after his opponent FabioCostantelisted the statistic from Campaign 2000, a movement to eliminate poverty, as one of his three priorities for the City of Windsor to address.

• 32% of children in Windsor-West living in poverty, analysis shows

"You know what the statistic is for Ward 2?" askedCostante, who is challenging Elliott for his seat on council.

"Almost 55 per cent," Costanteanswered, citing numbers from United Way Windsor-Essex for the specific area that sits in Windsor's west end.

Elliott responded by holding up his history in the community.

"We don't use a flashy neon sign 'oh yeah by the way, one in every two west-endkids is homeless, poverty.' We work in it. We raise these kids," said Elliott, adding he has hundreds of stories.

"We put our money where our mouth is about that one, and I'm not particularly happy that that's beingshopped around, it's all over the city. We know we have low-income families in need, we've done the work for it for 30 years so we know."

This forum was the first Ballots andBrews, an election forum for Wards 2 to 5,hosted byYQG+ Me, a group that's hoping to engagemillennialsso they will go and vote on Oct. 22.

BothCostanteandElliott attended and the audience hada chance to ask them questions.

One of the first questions from the public was if the candidates support an independent auditor general for the City of Windsor.

"If we look at the cost of the office at $300,000, $400,000 or $500,000 with a city budget, operating budget of $807 million or $808 million, it's a drop in the bucket," said Costante.

"More importantly is what return in investment can an auditor general provide?"

• Windsor man wants auditor general hired to monitor city council spending

Windsor currently has an outside accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, whichhandles reports on an as-requested basis.

"I support having a provincial auditor general," said Elliott, referencing the motion he voted in favour of during a 2015 council meeting.

"They want an auditor general because they think someone is cheating at city hall, so be it. I don't feel like that, personally I don't feel like that," said Elliott, adding he doesn't support an auditor general to "walk around and look over people's shoulder and make them feel uncomfortable."

• #WEvotes - CBC Windsor's municipal election coverage

He said he also supports the current system, believing that hiring a local independentauditor general would only lead to that person being so busy they would have to bring in an outside firm.

The next event is for Ward 3 on Wednesday from 9 to 11 p.m. at CraftheadsBrewing Co.