Safety concerns prompt Windsor to consider home security for city council members

A woman was charged after an alleged bomb threat to the mayor's house.

Threats against the mayor and city council have prompted local politicians to explore home security systems funded by the taxpayer. Council agreed behind closed doors Monday to pursue home security assessments for elected officials and to consider funding the upgrades as part of the 2027 budget. The move follows years of threats against politicians, including death threats targeting Mayor Drew Dilkens.

He and his fellow councillors decided the cost of home security should be a budget decision for the new council elected this October. Mayor Drew Dilkens, who has received threats against his home, his family, and his life, said home security assessments will be provided for all newly elected councillors. Speaking with reporters following the public portion of Monday’s meeting, Dilkens said people have confronted city councillors on their doorsteps, creating “very uncomfortable” situations.

Now, some councillors fear for their safety. “Some people are crazy out there,” Dilkens said. “If there’s any place where a city councillor should feel most safe, it’s in their own home — they need to have a sense of safety.

We need to provide the tools that give them that sense of safety so they can do their job effectively.” Civil behaviour and discourse took a nosedive when Donald Trump was first elected president in 2016, he said. Trump has been known for making personal attacks and using a combative, aggressive tone in interviews, social media posts, and beyond.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting lockdowns and vaccine mandates caused division, Windsor police officers were stationed in council chambers for public meetings, “because behaviour had changed,” Dilkens said. In February 2022, a woman was charged after an alleged bomb threat to the mayor’s house was posted on social media. The alleged threat was over opposition to COVID-19 measures.

In March of 2024, a man was arrested after making an alleged death threat against Dilkens during a phone call to the mayor’s office. In March of this year, another man pleaded guilty to harassing and threatening to kill Dilkens. He’d posted messages on social media that were so concerning the mayor reportedly hired private security to keep watch on his South Windsor home.

Related Amid rising political tension, Windsor man jailed over alleged threats to kill Mayor Drew Dilkens Man arrested after alleged death threat against Windsor mayor “There was a time where my wife’s got a knife in every room, hidden somewhere. If something happened, she had the ability to respond,” Dilkens said this week. “It’s crazy that I have to stand here and say that to you.

That’s my own home and what she had to do because I’m out so often. She wanted her own security. “I want councillors to feel safe in their own home.

I want their families to feel safe when they’re out doing city business. I regret that we have to consider that, but here we are, and we’re going to make sure that our team is safe.” tcampbell@postmedia.com