The Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce is waiting for an explanation after the town's economic development advisory committee rejected an application from Windsor's former mayor.
Eddie Francis was asked to apply for a seat on the committee, but was rejected in a secret vote. Town officials haven't said why.
Chamber President Chris Gibb is disappointed. He thinks Amherstburg could use someone with Francis' connections and skills. "He went toe-to-toe with the Ambassador Bridge Corporation. He even went toe-to-toe with the province and pretty well got the exact super highway that he wanted," says Gibb. "For a town that's facing the closing of two local high schools, maybe he would have been able to have a little bit of influence to keep one of our high schools open."
Gibb admits one option may be to bring Francis on board at the chamber. Although Francis lives in Windsor, he's a vice president at the Windsor Family Credit Union which has a location in Amherstburg. "That is an idea that we've bounced around," he says. "I don't know how willing he'd be to do that."
