Walter Sendzik

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]

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

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 (28 Feb 2018). "#HappyBirthday to me ! Time to put on the party hat!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. "Walter Sendzik says city's future is in jobs". Niagara Falls Review. October 9, 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  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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