Denise Ghanam aims for council

Denise Ghanam
By Madison Duggan
Ward 1

Harley Davidson motorcycle rider; singer; wife; leader; these are just a few of the titles this candidate boasts.

Denise Claire Ghanam was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and moved to Windsor with her husband in her early twenties. She is the youngest of six and lives her life to the fullest. You can find her at her local choir, on the back of her husband’s motorcycle, or what she’s passionate about most, running for Councillor of Ward 1 in Windsor.

“As a kid, some people dream of being an astronaut but me, I dreamt of being Prime Minister,” says Ghanam.

Ghanam loves to be involved in her community, but more than that, she believes she knows what the people want. She credits her family dinners as a kid for her ability to listen to what people want.

“I say that my consensus-building skills came from the family dinner table because dad would announce the topic of the day and you had to go around the table and everybody would give their opinion,” Ghanam recalls. “Of course being the youngest, I always had to go last, so in order to come up with something original to say I got very good at listening carefully to everyone else and taking a little bit of this and a little bit of that and putting it together to come up with sort of a compromised position.”

Ghanam claims to bring vision, drive and ambition to Ward 1. One of her passions is meeting new people. She goes door to door in the ward to ask the people what they want and get a firsthand look at people’s needs.

“I think a common misconception is that when you’re knocking on their door you’re convincing them to vote for you, and you’re not. You’re there to do two things: to see if they’ve already made their decision – if it’s not for you, that’s great and thanks for your time – and if it is for you that’s wonderful, now I want to make sure I get you to the polls. Most people, even at this point are still undecided,” she said.

Ghanam said that coming up with the funds to run is one of her greater challenges but it is possible. “You basically have to turn to your family and friends and people who know you, business colleagues and you have to beg for support,” she says. “The good news is there’s people who have faith in me and see that I have some skills to bring to the table so they are willing to help me by supporting me financially.”

“Denise is such a positive person and I would love to see a woman be councillor of Ward 1,” said Marlene Dugal, local resident.

Aside from politics, Ghanam runs her own business, visits her three children who live in Ottawa, New Zealand and Halifax volunteers for multiple boards and societies and plays basketball.

“I wish I was just a few inches taller. Then I would be able to sink baskets,” said Ghanam.

She fears most not living up to her potential. “When you’ve been given a lot of gifts, there’s a certain view on you that you should use them for the greater good. If you are someone that has vision and energy you should use them to make the world a better place.”