Mayoral race pits McDermott against Snively BY DANIEL SCHWAB With less than two weeks to go before the Nov. 13 municipal election, the race for the mayor of Essex has incumbent Ron McDermott once again squaring off against Larry Snively. Three years ago, McDermott defeated Snively by more than 400 votes to become mayor. This time, the two candidates are facing a number of issues, including the quality and safety of local roads, the cost of building a new arena in Essex and the ongoing challenge of bringing harmony to the amalgamated municipality. McDermott, 68, has worked as a letter carrier for Canada Post for 17 years. A former recipient of the Essex Citizen of the Year Award, McDermott has lived in the town his entire life. McDermott is proud to have led council in reducing outstanding property tax-supported debt by nearly $2 million, and in developing a 10-year plan to improve local roads. Still, Snively, 52, a used car salesman at Windsor Chrysler, said the south end of the municipality has been largely underdeveloped and council has missed out on a potential residential boom in the past three years. Both candidates say the "north-south" issue is surrounding their campaigns a rift between the way things are operating between Essex and Harrow. "We're probably the only place around that has one municipality with two towns one at each end," McDermott said. "It was bad. It started the northsouth issues. That's all you heard." McDermott said although the concerns have quieted since amalgamation, a "handful of people won't let it go."