The former MP for Windsor-Tecumseh says, "he doesn't know what the future looks like, but he knows he wants to work here."
Liberal Irek Kusmierczyk made the comment on AM800's The Dan MacDonald Show, his first comments since he lost the newly formed riding of Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore in the recent federal election.
On May 23, a judicial recount confirmed Conservative Kathy Borrelli as the winner of the new riding, nearly a month after the April 28 election.
Borrelli initially won the seat by 233 votes on election night, but after validation by Elections Canada, the margin was reduced to 77 votes, prompting Kusmierczyk to seek a judicial recount.
The recount determined Borrelli was the winner by just four votes.
Irek Kusmierczyk told AM800's The Dan MacDonald Show that the things he will remember are the things that didn't make headlines, including the work they did to help a Tecumseh nurse who was working on a cruise ship in San Diego that was quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I'll never forget the moment when we got the phone call that she's off the boat and on her way home. Everyone just kind of high-fived each other in the office. You quickly realize that you have the power to impact individuals' lives in this role," he says.
As for his future, he says he's genuinely excited about the road ahead.
"I'm excited about the possibilities. I'm excited about the opportunities," he says. "I don't know what that's going to look like at this point."
Kusmierczyk says he knows he wants to work here.
"All the contacts that I've made in Ottawa and all the friendships I've made here in Windsor and Essex with organizations and folks here, I want to put that to use here in this community to keep fighting for this community. This is where my heart is," he says.
Kusmierczyk was first elected to represent the riding of Windsor-Tecumseh in the 2019 federal election and then again in 2021.