His Worship
Walter Sendzik
Mayor of St. Catharines
In office
December 1, 2014 – November 15, 2022
Preceded byBrian McMullan
Succeeded byMat Siscoe
Personal details
Born (1972-02-28) February 28, 1972[1][2]
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada[3]
SpouseMelanie Sendzik[4]
Children2[2]
Occupation
  • Politician
  • publisher

Walter Sendzik (born February 28, 1972) is a Canadian politician who served as the mayor of St. Catharines from 2014 to 2022. As mayor, he sat on Niagara Regional Council. Sendzik did not run for a third term in the 2022 Niagara Region municipal elections, and was succeeded as mayor by Mat Siscoe.[5]

Career

Prior to being elected, Sendzik was the general manager of the Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce.[6] He had been with the Chamber of Commerce for seven years. Prior to this, he founded Vines Publishing, a publishing company specializing in wine and travel, including Vines magazine.[7] He sold the company in 2005.[3] He also served as president of the Niagara Wine Festival.[8] He holds a B.A. from Wilfrid Laurier University and a master's degree from McGill University.[3]

Sendzik was first elected as mayor in 2014 on a platform of youth retention, employment diversification, and attracting well paying jobs.[2] The position was an open one with the previous mayor, Brian McMullan retiring.[9] Sendzik defeated future NDP MPP Jeff Burch, winning 40% of the vote to Burch's 35%. In his first term as mayor, the city prepared for the construction of a 19-storey condominium building, the first of its kind in the city, part of the city's transition into both a bedroom community and the "urban centre" of the Niagara Region.[10]

He was re-elected in 2018 running on a record of economic development and investing in infrastructure.[11] He was re-elected, winning 72% of the vote. After being re-elected, one issue Sendzik had to deal with were the layoffs at General Motors, one of the largest private sector employers in the city.[12] Also during his second term, St. Catharines experienced a housing boom after increased GO Train connections to the Greater Toronto Area.[13]

References

  1. ↑ @WSendzik (February 28, 2018). "#HappyBirthday to me ! Time to put on the party hat!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. 1 2 3 "Walter Sendzik says city's future is in jobs". Niagara Falls Review. October 9, 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 City biography
  4. ↑ "Sendzik has an app for mayoral campaign". St. Catharines Standard. August 11, 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  5. ↑ Karena Walter, "Mat Siscoe wins St. Catharines mayor’s race by a landslide". St. Catharines Standard, October 25, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Sendzik has an app for mayoral campaign". St. Catharines Standard. August 11, 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "Cool cover". Edmonton Journal. April 28, 2000. p. A2. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Fun and excitement for the whole family". National Post. September 5, 2003. p. 103. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Mayor Brian McMullan not running again". St. Catharines Standard. April 1, 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  10. ↑ "Looking up in the suburbs". Montreal Gazette. May 20, 2017. p. D2. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Meet the St. Catharines mayoral candidates". St. Catharines Standard. August 18, 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  12. ↑ "Anxiety builds for laidoff GM workers in Canada". National Post. September 28, 2019. p. FP7. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Go Train fuels Niagara housing boom". National Post. June 29, 2019. p. PH9. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
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