He’s been a cop. A farmer. A local politician. Man of the people.

He’s also been accused of conflict and favouritism. His first cousin is a developer living in the biggest house in town. He leans right. He’s blunt. He was Grape King. Now he wants to be lord mayor.

Erwin Wiens seems like a complicated guy, with spreading influence. On the Niagara Parks Commission. The airport commission. The Lions Club. NOTL council. The irrigation group. Buds with Doug Ford. Ruler of 105 acres of grape vines. Lover of tractors, equipment and big trucks. Husband to Dorothy, famously Citizen of the Year, a quilter, volunteer and farm administrator.

“I really lucked out on that one,” he says.

At the core, he seems less complex. Wiens is a process guy. Rules are in place for a reason, whether it’s on the beat and among the cells as a police officer, or sitting in judgment of the next proposed hotel at town hall.

“I only ever wanted to do two things in life,” he says. “I wanted to be a farmer and a policeman.”

As a kid in a farming family, when it cost more to grow a peach than it sold for, the path was clear. He joined Peel police, then the Hamilton force.

Wiens busted through doors on a police tactical unit and stood in protection of vulnerable people as social workers helped them through their haze. “You learn that people are essentially good. They mean well but are in different stages of their lives.

“So here we are in Niagara-on-the-Lake. We’re blessed. We live better than most people and have an obligation to share that, because not everybody gets to live like we do. I’ve seen so many people in crisis, and everybody has some issue going on all the time. Life’s not easy. Life’s not fair.”

Cops learn they have to dive into trouble looking for solutions but understand there may be none. In that case, you need those rules. Process. A guide to know what to do.

Wiens has brought those lessons forward. Not my job, he says, to judge if Benny Marotta should have another hotel or not. If he follows the procedures in place and does what the process asks him to do, then continue. It’s not about growth or no growth. Instead, the rules.

He’s been on council for eight years, two of them juggling police work and growing grapes. Those days are done. He’s retired. He has a farm manager (“His name is Barak, so everybody calls him Obama. Great guy. Came as a temporary foreign worker from Jamaica”).

He wants to be a full-time mayor — an upgrade from the part-timer who’s been in place since 2022.

“I have the time now. But the job these days is about being available 24/7, isn’t it? Dorothy and I both understand that if you’re going to take this commitment on, then do it. People are counting on you.”

What of the allegations of conflict? Wiens sits on a committee overseeing irrigation, which his thirsty vines need. And his first cousin, Rainer Hummel, is a developer who not only requires town approvals but sued the municipality — and won a million bucks last year.

Wiens says he was cleared by the town’s integrity commissioner, and so long as decisions are made “for the greater good, and not solely beneficial to me” there is no conflict.

“The rules are clear. They’ve been investigated. People have the right to ask questions. That’s my answer.”

What about development? The mega-Royal George? Parliament Oak? Ritz-Carlton? Subdivisions in St. Davids? Condo towers in Glendale?

“We live in a constitutional monarchy, with rules and regulations. Do these things fit provincial policies? Do they fit the regional ones? The official plan? Zoning bylaws? Did the planning staff look at it? Can they defend it? If issues are contentious and people are upset, we need to change the policies.

“Let’s address problems instead of complaining. Instead of throwing rocks, throw ideas. Start fixing things by adjusting and updating the policies.

“It’s not sexy.”

Nope. Just basic police work.

Garth Turner is a NOTL resident, journalist, author, wealth manager and former federal MP and minister. garth@garth.ca