Rapid Response

Municipality Misled Me

October 22, 2010 - On October 21st, the A-Channel news stated that the mayoral race was between Randy Hope and Tom McGregor, and proceeded to promote Hope's campaign for free with a clip of … read more

Wallaceburg Forum Notes

October 19, 2010 - The Newspaper today did not appear to describe the same forum I attended last night. They gave Randy Hope 9 cherry-picked paragraphs of rhetoric dedicated to his responses, making it … read more

Plan for Prosperity

October 16, 2010 - I am pleased to release my Plan for Prosperity - a comprehensive platform of ideas and solutions designed to accelerate our economic development results. If I'm elected mayor, I won't need … read more

Mayor Hope Fell for Exaggerations

October 13, 2010 - With Victor Boutin poised to make another campaign stop in Chatham on behalf of mayor Randy Hope's "Vote Hope Or Else I Take My Millions And Go Home" tour to … read more

Everlast Condo Not Shovel-ready

October 5, 2010 - Since Victor Boutin of Everlast Group announced a $50 million condo/hotel project in downtown Chatham which he made blatantly conditional on Randy Hope's re-election, I've been searching for information. I … read more

Corporate Election Interference?

September 30, 2010 - It's deja vu - a potential investor has politicized a major development announcement with an endorsement of Randy Hope, promising to take his millions and leave if Hope loses. This … read more

Hydro Costs Poised to Skyrocket

- A major issue facing families, seniors and businesses is the escalating cost of electricity. Smart meters were installed under the promise of saving us money, yet most customers will have … read more

Executive Salary Increase

September 15, 2010 - In 2009, most salaries of Chatham-Kent’s Executive Management Team increased 7.3%. This comes in the middle of the worst recession since the ’30s, with local unemployment rating the … read more




Austin Wright’s Bio

I’m a 42-year-old married father of two girls, born and raised in Chatham-Kent. Last time I ran for mayor in 2003, I placed second. This time I’m running to win.

I have been a small business owner for 20 years, specializing in photography, photofinishing, web design, software programming, and even piano tuning. I know what it takes to achieve big results on a limited budget!

I spent 17 years as a professional organist and choir director. For 5 years, I’ve taught one of the most popular Continuing Education courses at St. Clair College in digital photography. I am a Certified Broadcast Technologist, and member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers.

I hold an Advanced Amateur Radio Licence, and am appointed as a leadership official with Radio Amateurs of Canada and the Chatham-Kent Amateur Radio Club. As a Certified Emergency Coordinator, I serve in Chatham-Kent for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), involving Emergency Management Ontario, Red Cross, and OPP Amber Alert program.

When severe weather threatens, I volunteer as a CanWarn storm spotter trained by Environment Canada.

I earned my Private Pilot licence, endorsed for floats, night, and VFR-OTT.

In addition to these ventures, I have been an active volunteer for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, MS Society, Canadian Cancer Society, Olympic Torch Run, and played piano for Wallaceburg Rotary.

Working with the Chatham-Kent Health Unit, I donated aerial photography of every school in Chatham-Kent, and performed PowerPoint presentations in support of the “Where’s the Shade” skin cancer awareness program.

My wife is a recent breast cancer survivor, whom I looked after through her illness.

Hobbies include astronomy, 16mm film-making, wilderness canoeing, horticulture, blogging, and politics.