Some people are driven into politics by an issue. A cause. A crusade.
Others just crave being elected. In power. In public. Drawing attention. Building an image.
This will be Andrea Kaiser’s seventh election. She’s won a few. Lost the three big federal ones. Now she wants to be the mayor. More accurately, she’d really relish the title and the trappings. But she’s busy, so this would be a great add-on to her successful life. Like the current guy, she would be another part-timer.
Kaiser is a brand. Her father helped found Inniskillin Wines, and she’s been steeped in the industry all her adult life, building her reputation.
For 23 years she’s been director of marketing at Reif Estate Winery. She’s been chair of the Wineries of Niagara-on-the-Lake. She markets herself as a public speaker and has done international gigs. She leads the marketing and strategy division of her brother’s company, Kaiser Design and Marketing.
She is founder, owner and principal of her own wine brand, Drea’s Wine Co, where her Rosato was named a top Canadian rosé by Decanter, and her Sauvignon Blanc received distinction from critic Jancis Robinson.
Oh, and lately she’s been sitting on regional council. But now the province is nixing that job. So Andrea is running for the high-profile position of mayor in a town that would call her “lord.”
Is this about Andrea Inc? Or the voters?
“If I were lord mayor, I would be putting aside some of those roles to be able to balance that effectively,” she says, “and would largely give up working with my brother’s company so that I could have time to do the job of mayor.”
But wait. This job is not just ruling NOTL anymore. Given what’s coming, our lord mayor will also be the sole and only rep at the senior level of government, Niagara Region. Kaiser already knows what that workload amounts to. Being mayor would be extra. How does one already-busy person do that part-time?
“I will be giving up a significant part of my workload in order to take on the capacity of lord mayor. I understand it kind of would likely be full-time hours by the time you add in evenings and community events.”
Let’s ask the obvious question. Is this about money?
“Yes, it’s largely related to income. If it were a position where I could work full-time, and provide an income to live on, that I would require, to pay my mortgage etc., then I would certainly look at being a full-time mayor.”
But even so, Kaiser says, her loyalty and attention would be divided.
“In any scenario, I would keep my wine brand. It’s a very personal passion project.”
Is being a winemaker and a lord mayor plus regional leader with sway over the industry, tourism and agricultural policy a conflict of interest? Some people have wondered if the incumbent’s professional real-estate career has greased the way for an explosion in development in NOTL.
Would Kaiser fall on her background and brand and become a winery-tourism mayor?
“I think anyone who knows me would know that if I had a conflict, I would definitely say so. I feel like I have a very good reputation in terms of people trusting me and what you see is what you get.”
“I would definitely like to see tourism flourish, whether it’s more or people just staying longer. I’m a tourist person. I come from the tourist industry. I was a hotelier. A restaurant owner and my father started a winery. I love that mix of culture and experiences that residents get from a flourishing tourism industry.”
And more tourists filling the streets would be good for business. For flogging wine. And the Kaiser brand.
Later this year, after speaking with residents, she plans on having policies.
Garth Turner is a NOTL resident, journalist, author, wealth manager and former federal MP and minister. garth@garth.ca
