Ron Rogers shows his true colours

The first physical feature that stands out would be his black-framed glasses. They are the studious, no-nonsense kind of glasses that many people wear, but only certain people can pull off. He is 60, although his black hair with only whispers of grey suggests otherwise. Yet, despite his hair and his overly-serious glasses, there is a hidden side to this mayoral candidate for Essex.

“I call him my Clark Kent,” Carolyn says, laughing the same way a teenage girl does when she announces she has a boyfriend. “A lot of people say he looks like Clark Kent and I’m like, ‘Yes, he’s my Clark Kent. He’s my Superman.”

Taking a look inside his house, visitors see a more colourful, youthful and vibrant side of Ron Rogers. His house rests on a hill overlooking the Colchester beach and boasts an abundance of flower pots. The flowers match the highlighter sunsets which are painted across the sky from one end of the water’s edge to the other. It makes sense, though, considering Rogers has been a co-chair for the Town of Essex’s Communities in Bloom committee for seven years where he also occasionally played the part of Bloomer, one of the CIB mascots.

“I think given that I’m very new to Essex County, I really admire his passion for the county…,” says Paul Tonon, a co-chair with Rogers on CIB. “I think that’s something that I’ve had rubbed off a little on me. He’s kind of contagious that way.”

Although he isn’t an actual superhero, he tries to be involved in his community and in politics. He first became involved in politics in 1991, running for and winning the seat for Colchester South where he remained until 1999. Six years later, he ran for the same seat and was successful. When he tried to run for mayor in 2010, though, he lost to Ron McDermott by 376 votes.

Rogers is also involved in the John R. Park Homestead advisory committee, the Windsor Essex Therapeutic Riding Association board of directors and the Access County Community Support Services board of directors.

Growing up, Rogers says his parents instilled in him a strong belief of community involvement. His father was very involved in the church and his mother would volunteer in cancer and blood donor clinics. Although he only lived in Colchester part-time when he was a kid, he and his older brotherstill had a love for it they just didn’t feel for Windsor.

“Being out in the country is much more appealing to me than living in the city,” says Rogers, looking towards the water. “[…] I really have no desire to live in a large city anymore. I enjoy the calm and the quiet […]”

Rogers attended W.D. Lowe High School and afterwards, studied engineering at the University of Windsor.

“He knows everything, something of everything and what he doesn’t know he will find out…” says his wife of 25 years, Carolyn Rogers. “He built our house, he can do plumbing, he can do wiring he can do everything and he will […]”

After university, Rogers spent three years out west. Upon returning to Windsor, he got a job at SKD.

If he becomes mayor, Rogers says he wants to accelerate the 10-year road program which he says has been going on for 20 years. He also would like to fix the flooding issues and to fix the current infrastructure in the Town of Essex.

Every person has something that makes them different. In the case of Ron Rogers, voters will be allowed to determine whether to allow his hidden colours to shine.