The Garden City Refugee

The Man with the Swelled Head

October 15, 2026

During this municipal election cycle, Mat Sendzcoe Siscoe, who is seeking reappointment to the office of mayor here in St. Catharines, has been keeping a low profile. Understandably so. First and foremost, having to go through the charade of facing voters is beneath him. I’d be surprised if he’s knocked on a single door. He feels entitled to the job. See Bradley, Jim; Phillips, Bill. And though he’d never admit it publicly, I think he knows he’s not terribly popular. Despite my many criticisms of him, he has never impressed me as a stupid man.

But, clearly, no one in these parts has a greater feeling of self-importance. He’s been brainwashed by his own press.

There’s no greater evidence of that than the latest posting on his campaign page:

At first, I wanted to laugh. But it was so outrageous that it wasn’t even funny.

“We’ve worked hard to keep taxes down through service reviews and value-for-money audits, finding savings and putting those dollars toward priorities like infrastructure,” he says.

Tell that to the many people in the North End who were devastated by the flooding. The infrastructure they counted on failed miserably. All while facing the full onslaught of the largest tax increase in the city’s history. So much for “keeping taxes down” and those phantom “value-for-money audits.” A real audit would have identified obvious savings which should never have been in any budget. Neighborhood micro grants. Cul-de-sac naturalization. Community gardens funding program. The so-called cultural investment program. The poet laureate. Art exhibitions. The defilement of the front steps at City Hall. The housing accelerator program.

Not to mention so many unnecessary staff positions. The DEI officer. The downtown development officer. The active transportation supervisor. The army of HR consultants and economic development officers. The manager of community initiatives and partnerships. The government relations advisor. The small business consultant. The entire Culture Services department. The social media censors. And many of the other high-level bureaucrats are seriously overpaid. Including his gofer.

“Respect for taxpayers,” he says, almost comically. Not from him.

And as part of his commitment to accountability, he shut down comments on his post.

In other words, vote for me, pay your taxes and shut up.

Mat Sendzcoe Siscoe in a nutshell.

A bully with a swelled head.