Sheila Wisdom

Sheila Wisdom (born 1950) is a former municipal politician in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She represented the second ward on the Windsor City Council from 1988 to 1997, and later became a journalist with the "Windsor Star" newspaper.

City councillor

Wisdom studied linguistics at the University of Windsor, and owns South Shore Books in private life. [" 15 area students Christmas winners in writing contest", "Windsor Star" 6 December 1986, A5.] She was thirty-eight years old during her first election in 1988, and campaigned on a platform of waterfront renewal and economic diversification. She was also known to oppose student housing plans by Canterbury College in her area of the city. ["Wisdom bids for seat", "Windsor Star", 19 October 1988, A11.] She was endorsed by Bert Weeks, a former mayor of the city. [Marty Beneteau, "Eight fight it out in west-end ward", "Windsor Star", 8 November 1988, A5.] Wisdom was not identified with any party, and was regarded a supporter of fiscal restraint. [Marty Beneteau, "Votes make right turn", "Windsor Star", 15 November 1988, A1.] She won election to the ward's second seat, and was appointed to the board of the Windsor Symphony Orchestra after the election. ["'No guff' Millson says he's the boss", "Windsor Star", 13 December 1988, A3.] She later co-authored a fiscal policy to keep annual mill rate increases at the level of inflation. This document became the cornerstone of Windsor's fiscal policy during the 1990s. ["City's fiscal fitness top priority: Wisdom", "Windsor Star", 24 September 1991, A5.]

Wisdom was a prominent supporter of culture and the arts. She fought for increased cultural spending in the 1989 city budget and supported increased funding for the symphony, although she also presided over a musicians' pay cut to stabilize its finances. [Marty Beneteau, "Stingy council holds tax boost to around $30", "Windsor Star", 21 April 1989, A3; "Windsor Symphony asks city to bail it out", "Windsor Star", 1 September 1989, A7; Lauren More, "WSO tills alive with sound of money", "Windsor Star", 1 December 1992, A3.] She criticized conductor Dwight Bennett, who was forced to resign in 1990, for trying to grow the orchestra too quickly for the city's capacity. [Marty Gervais, " Sour notes?", "Windsor Star", 29 September 1990, C1.] In November 1990, she advocated a significant spending increase in hiking and bike trails. [Chris Vander Doelen, "Group seeks $300,000 for bike trails", "Windsor Star", 29 November 1990, A5; Chris Vander Doelen, "Bikeways plan lacks only cash", "Windsor Star", 13 February 1991, A8.] The following year, she promoted the idea of an international Air Pollution Advisory Board. [Gary Rennie, "IJC called 'toothless' over air emissions", "Windsor Star", 20 March 1991, A11.]

Wisdom was re-elected in 1991, with an endorsement from the Windsor Labour Council. [Don Lajoie, " Labor council endorses slate for Nov. 12 election", "Windsor Star", 16 October 1991, A5.] She supported an inventory of Windsor's green spaces in 1992, and was disappointed when council deferred the decision for another year. ["Green space inventory off until next year", "Windsor Star", 31 March 1992, A5.] She voted for a comprehensive waterfront renewal plan later in the same year, despite her doubts about a planned aquarium and science centre as the waterfront's centerpiece. [Chris Vander Doelen, "Riverfront plan leaps forward", "Windsor Star", 15 October 1992, A1.] Wisdom served on the city's budget committee during this period, [Chris Vander Doelen, "Hunt is on to cut dollars", "Windsor Star", 10 May 1993, A1.] and was also appointed as executive director of the Windsor Family YMCA in late 1993. ["Wisdom to run Y for next 3 months", "Windsor Star", 11 August 1993, A3.] She supported the arrival of a Windsor casino in the mid-1990s, but opposed plans to make it a twenty-four hour operation. [Ellen van Wageningen, " 24-hour casino backed", "Windsor Star", 14 June 1994, A3.] (She later voted against the final deal, citing concerns about the city's concessions to the casino). ["The big deal: Wisdom of debate" [editorial] , "Windsor Star", 6 July 1995, A6.]

Wisdom was elected to a third term in 1994, again with support from the labour council. ["Labor council releases its picks for election '94", "Windsor Star", 19 October 1994, A5.] She was chosen as chair of the Essex Region Conservation Authority in 1996, and was re-appointed to the position the following year. [Sharon Hill, " Wisdom takes reins of ERCA reins", "Windsor Star", 19 January 1996, B1; "ERCA sets 1% levy increase, Wisdom wins second term", "Windsor Star", 17 January 1997, A5.] She voted against a new farmer's market plan in December 1996, arguing that she could not support it without further financial details. [Ellen Van Wageningen, "City Council: Council votes for pavilion-style market", "Windsor Star", 17 December 1996, A1.] The following year, she was the only councillor to vote against a new mall development. [Chris Vander Doelen, "Hotel wins approval", "Windsor Star", 18 February 1997, A1.]

She declined to run for re-election in 1997.

Journalist

In January 1998, Wisdom was hired to write a regular column for the "Windsor Star" newspaper. She held the position until 2006, and often used her columns to address and criticize municipal government decisions. [see for instance Sheila Wisdom, "Let's make a better deal", "Windsor Star", 2 March 1998, A6.] Her articles about provincial, national and international developments were highly articulate, and were usually very objective. She was named executive director of the United Way/Centraide of Windsor-Essex County in June 1998. ["Windsor in brief", "Windsor Star", 3 July 1998, A4.]

Wisdom supported the Kyoto Protocol in a 2002 article. [Sheila Wisdom, "Kyoto an opportunity", "Windsor Star", 3 June 2002, A6.]

Footnotes