SM, Reporter, Eastern Canada
2026 Sarnia Municipal Election | Hello Asia News Candidate Interview
SARNIA, ON — As Sarnia prepares for the 2026 Municipal Election, Hello Asia News is providing mayoral and council candidates with an opportunity to communicate directly with residents about their priorities, vision and plans for the city.
In this interview, Bill Dennis, Sarnia City/County Councillor and candidate for Mayor of Sarnia, responds to six questions from Hello Asia News covering economic development, City Hall accountability, municipal spending, infrastructure, housing, public safety and Sarnia’s changing demographics.
Dennis, who is challenging long-serving incumbent Mayor Mike Bradley, says Sarnia needs a change in direction and describes his campaign as a push for stronger leadership, economic growth and greater accountability.
Among his key campaign messages are a commitment to aggressively pursue investment and economic development, reduce what he considers unnecessary consulting expenditures, improve City Hall service, support existing industries while attracting new opportunities, and make measurable growth a defining outcome of his first term.
Below is the interview in full, with the questions and answers published as submitted by the candidate.
1. Why are you running for Mayor of Sarnia at this point in your life and career? What convinced you that the City needs you in this position now?
I am running because I believe Sarnia has enormous potential, but we have been stagnant for far too long.
I love this city. I have spent years fighting for taxpayers, businesses, workers, neighbourhoods and our major industries on Council, and I believe Sarnia now needs stronger leadership, a greater sense of urgency and a Mayor who will actively drive change.
I spent approximately 30 years in an award-winning sales career. I know how to sell, compete, negotiate and get results. As Mayor, I intend to personally sell Sarnia to investors, employers and developers. I want to be Sarnia’s salesman.
We need good-paying jobs, new investment, safer streets, better roads and infrastructure, responsible spending and a City Hall that provides five-star service to the people paying the bills.
I am at a point in my life where I have the experience, energy and determination to take this on. I am not interested in managing decline. I want Sarnia growing again.
2. After nearly four decades of the same mayoral leadership in Sarnia, what do you believe are the most significant mistakes, missed opportunities, or failures of the current administration? If elected, what specifically would you change, replace, or do differently, and why do you believe your approach would produce a better result for Sarnia residents?
Thirty-eight years under one Mayor is an extraordinary length of time. Sarnia needs renewal.
My greatest concern is the stagnation that has occurred while other communities have aggressively pursued growth, investment and development.
We have seen housing starts struggle, development charges rise, millions of dollars spent on outside consultants, major infrastructure needs continue to grow and residents increasingly frustrated with City Hall.
I would change the culture.
City Hall needs to understand that residents and businesses are its customers. I expect five-star service, faster decisions, greater accountability and far more urgency.
I will aggressively pursue economic development. I will personally promote Sarnia to businesses and investors. I will strongly support Chemical Valley and our existing employers while also pursuing new industries and opportunities.
I will continue fighting unnecessary consulting costs and demand better value for taxpayers. I have already challenged the enormous growth in consulting expenditures and brought forward a motion aimed at cutting those costs.
I also believe leadership matters. I have publicly stated that I believe Sarnia requires new administrative leadership capable of implementing the direction and pace of change I believe residents are asking for.
We cannot keep doing the same things and expect a different result.
3. You are challenging a long-serving incumbent for the City’s highest elected office. What evidence can you give voters that your motivation is genuinely about serving Sarnia residents and changing the direction of the City, rather than simply seeking the Mayor’s position?
My record.
I have never been afraid to take difficult positions when I believed taxpayers were being asked to spend too much or when I believed Council was heading in the wrong direction.
I fought the proposed police headquarters as its projected cost escalated and consistently challenged the size and cost of the project.
I have fought excessive consulting costs. I pushed for competitive tendering of the City’s insurance. I have fought development-charge increases that I believe discourage construction. I have defended our industries, private property rights and local businesses, and I have consistently pushed City Hall to focus on basic municipal responsibilities.
Those positions are not always easy and they certainly have not always been popular around the Council table.
I am not running because I need another title. I am running because I believe Sarnia needs a change in direction and I believe I have the ability and determination to deliver it.
4. Sarnia is changing demographically, with immigrants and newcomers becoming an increasingly visible part of the community. What is your position on how the City should manage this change? What have you seen working or not working in integrating newcomers, and what would you do differently if elected?
I have always welcomed newcomers to Sarnia, and I believe strongly in full equality and equal opportunity for everyone.
Newcomers are an important part of our community and our economy. I have been a strong supporter of small business throughout my time on Council, including the many newcomer entrepreneurs who have chosen to invest, open businesses, create jobs and build their futures here in Sarnia.
I believe people should be judged as individuals and treated equally. That principle applies throughout our community and at City Hall.
I also strongly believe employment at City Hall should be based on merit. The best-qualified person should get the job, and everyone should have a fair and equal opportunity to compete for it.
Economic integration is extremely important. One of the best ways to help newcomers establish themselves and build successful lives is through employment, entrepreneurship and participation in the local economy.
That reinforces one of my central priorities as Mayor: growing Sarnia’s economy and creating more opportunity for everyone who calls this city home.
5. If elected Mayor, you will inherit competing demands for tax dollars, infrastructure, housing, economic development and public services. If the City cannot afford everything residents want, what would you prioritize, and what would you be prepared to say NO to?
A Mayor has to be capable of saying no. Taxpayers cannot afford everything.
My priorities are good-paying jobs and economic growth, public safety, roads and basic infrastructure, housing and development, affordability and high-quality core municipal services.
Those priorities are interconnected. Growing our assessment base helps us pay for the services and infrastructure residents need without continually going back to existing taxpayers.
I would say no to unnecessary bureaucracy, excessive outside consulting, poorly justified projects and spending that does not represent good value.
I opposed the massive police headquarters proposal as its projected cost escalated. I have fought millions of dollars in consulting expenditures. I have opposed spending when I did not believe taxpayers were receiving sufficient value.
Government has unlimited ways to spend money but taxpayers do not have unlimited money to give us.
Every dollar has to matter.
6. If Sarnia voters give you the opportunity to serve as Mayor, what one specific and measurable result should they expect from you by the end of your first term that would demonstrate that electing you actually made a difference?
Growth.
By the end of my first term, residents should be able to look at objective numbers and see that Sarnia is growing again: more investment, more construction, more businesses and more good-paying jobs.
I do not want people judging my term by speeches or slogans. Judge me by the results.
Did we attract investment?
Did we grow our tax base?
Did we create opportunities for young people to stay in Sarnia?
Did we get housing and development moving?
Did residents receive better service from City Hall?
Did we spend their money more responsibly?
Those are measurable outcomes.
Sarnia has tremendous assets: our location, Chemical Valley, the Great Lakes, our skilled workforce, our transportation connections and our quality of life. We should be one of the most competitive communities in Ontario.
I believe decline is a choice.
I am running for Mayor because I choose growth.
