Fact Check: a look at incumbent Jim Diodati’s claims against his main opponent, Lori Lococo, in the Niagara Falls mayoral race

In August, shortly after the close of nominations for filing for the municipal election, Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati told the Niagara Falls Review “I kind of run against myself. I don’t run against other people.” 

Two months later, in a sign that he is facing a serious challenge, Diodati seems to have set his sights on Lori Lococo, the two-term councillor, who a day before the deadline for nominations, switched from an almost guaranteed re-election as a councillor to challenge the four-term incumbent. 

In a video he posted to his social media platforms during the campaign, Diodati takes aim at his “opponent”. The Pointer decided to fact check Mr. Diodati’s claims in the video, especially related to Ms. Lococo, and provide greater context.

The video, which runs a little over two and half minutes, appears to be professionally shot with Diodati in several different settings. With the still-being-constructed Niagara South Hospital in the background, the first reference to his “opponent" comes at the 37 second mark of the video.

Purchase of Extra Land for the South Niagara Hospital

Diodati does not name the opponent, despite there being three other candidates on the ballot (Kevin Beauregard, Michael Lucid and Paul Manning). He states, “my opponent, on the other hand, voted against purchasing extra land to build the new hospital”. A subtitle in the video says, “The Mayor’s motion was approved with only Councillor Lococo opposed.”

Diodati’s first accusation is arguably the most egregious in the video, as Lori Lococo was not a city councillor in 2017 when the purchase of the extra land for the proposed hospital took place.

The reference to extra land for the hospital has a history and related controversy. 

In March 2013, Diodati, at his annual State of the City address, announced that the Grassl family was donating 30 acres of land at the corner of Montrose and Biggar Roads for the South Niagara Hospital. 

In 2016, Niagara Falls City Council was informed more land would be required for the hospital. City officials claimed that the Province had a policy requiring any new hospital builds to be, at least, 50 acres. (The Pointer has ongoing Freedom of Information requests related to the need for the 20 additional acres. In one email provided, a Project Manager from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care states that the requirement of 50 acres “is recommended but not a policy”.)

The Grassl family, who owned adjacent lots to the land they were donating, were not prepared to donate further, culminating in a May 9, 2017, City Council decision to purchase the additional 20 acres at $550,000.00 an acre for a total payment of $11,000,000.00. The donors also received a tax receipt in the amount of $14,250,000 for the 30 acres.

What was originally portrayed as free land for the hospital ended up effectively being a purchase by the municipality of $220,000 per acre. The City Solicitor, at the time, Ken Beamen justified the purchase arguing that the municipality could expropriate the additional lands but would be required to pay “highest and best use” for the land. “You can't get residential land for less than around 220 an acre,” argued the Solicitor.

As previously reported by the Pointer, the family of Niagara Falls Councillor Victor Pietrangelo purchased a 13.4-acre lot, zoned agriculture, kitty-cornered (50 metres away) to the hospital for just $33,600 per acre the morning after the council voted to approve the hospital deal. 

(For the record, the motion to approve the May 2017 purchase of the extra lands was moved by Councillor Vince Kerrio, seconded by Councillor Joyce Morocco. The mayor, as meeting chair, would not move a motion. Councillor Carolynn Ioannoni was the vote opposed to the purchase. Lori Lococo was elected to Council in October 2018.)

Diodati’s campaign video appears to conflate the purchase of extra land for the hospital, with a later decision on July 11, 2023, when Council approved a contribution of $30,000,000 to Niagara Health System representing the City of Niagara Falls local share commitment for the South Niagara Hospital. In 2013, the Council of the day had pledged $22 million to the hospital, making the request in 2023 an increase to the municipality’s commitment. 

Councillor Lococo did vote against the motion, which was made by Councillor Wayne Thomson, seconded by Councillor Mike Strange. Mayor Diodati could have moved the motion, as he did not chair that portion of the meeting. 

“I think everyone can agree that we definitely need a hospital. My concerns are regarding the funding of the hospital, determining the local share of the municipalities and not overburdening Niagara Falls' taxpayers, especially after our 2023 tax increase. I'm concerned that Niagara Falls' taxpayers are contributing more than our fair share. I think that the 30 million request is too high and I'm concerned about the local share of the other municipalities,” stated Lococo at the time. 

The councillor also argued that with the City’s original $22 million commitment and the $11 million purchase of land for the hospital, the City had already committed more than $30 million to the South Niagara Hospital. It is still not a foregone conclusion that all the other Niagara municipalities that are to be served by the hospital will contribute their expected local share. 

It should also be noted that in May 2024, the Council went into an In Camera meeting to consider “acquisition of land and easements required for road widenings on Biggar Road and Montrose Road.” The Council, including Councillor Lococo, unanimously approved the related land acquisition. 

Doctor Recruitment Funding

After the patently false statement regarding the extra hospital lands, Diodati continues in the video to question Lococo’s support of health care by stating that his opponent put forward a motion to reduce funding for doctor recruitment. 

The statement is factually accurate. Staff was seeking $500,000 in doctor recruitment funding as part of this year’s operating budget. Lococo was proposing $300,000. Her concern was the use of financial incentives to attract doctors. 

Under the program in Niagara Falls, a doctor may be paid up to $100,000 to move to the municipality for a minimum period of five years. Such financial incentives have been criticized, including by Health Minister Sylvia Jones. At the budget meeting, Councillor Mona Patel also expressed concerns regarding the incentives, and the previous year Councillor Ruth-Ann Nieuwesteeg requested the City’s CAO to work with the other CAOs in the Niagara Region to “collectively come up with a different or a more creative approach to attracting doctors to our area.”

“I know we need doctors. I'm okay with what we've already committed before, it’s the extra $200,000. I'm always having a problem with this word, scope creep but the province is not giving us the services that we need and as a municipality, we're having to step up,” explained Lococo at the budget meeting. 

She went on to note the criticism of Minister Jones that the incentives were creating a “Hunger Games” scenario amongst municipalities. At the previous year’s operating budget meeting, Mayor Diodati lauded Council for agreeing to increase the individual maximum incentive to $100,000 so that Niagara Falls could keep up with what Welland was offering under their doctor recruitment program.

Homelessness, Mental Health and Addiction

On the issue of homelessness, mental health, and opioid addiction, Diodati announces in the video that he supports the work of the Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) and advocates for tougher bail for repeat offenders and involuntary care for chronic addicts. He then states that “my opponent was the only member of council to oppose these moves.”

Diodati is referring to a Notice of Motion he brought forward in November 2024 titled Strengthening Existing System of Mandatory Mental Health Care. The motion did echo the efforts of the majority of, but not all, the Ontario Big City Mayors responding to a “challenge” from Premier Ford, at the time, to request that he invoke the notwithstanding clause to override the Charter rights of vulnerable residents. 

 (Jim Diodati, Facebook)

Councillor Lococo was opposed to the Mayor’s motion. Diodati’s campaign video contains a screen grab from the article The Pointer did at that time that lays out the Councillor’s well-reasoned rationale for opposing the motion, most notably the invocation of the notwithstanding clause to take away people’s constitutional rights. 

Diodati fails to mention that Lococo moved the OBCM’s “Solve the Crisis” motion that predated the Premier’s challenge, that was on the same November 2024 agenda and that Council, including Lococo, voted in favour of a motion in September 2025 that called for “the strengthening of bail laws to ensure repeat offenders are kept off our streets.”

In addition to misrepresenting Lococo’s positions, he claims that Lococo advocated for the decriminalization of hard drugs, adding a comment of “can you believe that?” for dramatic effect.  

In August 2020, Councillor Lococo and Councillor Wayne Campbell brought forward a motion that emanated from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police that recommended decriminalization of personal possession of illicit drugs. 

“Decriminalization is not making it legal. What it would make is that the matter wouldn't go through the criminal justice system. There would probably be a fine,” explained Lococo at the time. 

She and Campbell withdrew their motion but the Mayor noted at the time that there had been “good points on both sides” of the issue.

The Ferris Wheel

Unrelated to any assertions against his "opponent", one claim in Diodati’s campaign video that is subject to debate is when he states that he stands up for Niagara Falls “when a proposal doesn’t work for us” and takes sole credit for stopping the Ferris wheel from going in the natural setting of Queen Victoria Park.

On December 15th, the Province announced the launch of its Destination Niagara Strategy, a plan that promises to double tourist visitation in Niagara Falls to 25 million visitors a year. Included in the proposed new tourism attractions was a “new observation wheel”, that called to mind in 2011 when Doug Ford and his brother, Mayor Rob Ford sat on Toronto City Council and proposed that the city's Port Lands be transformed into an amusement park with a giant Ferris wheel. For Niagara Falls residents, the Destination Niagara proposal was perplexing considering the existence of the similar SkyWheel on Clifton Hill. 

A review of local media and council meetings fails to uncover the Mayor explicitly coming out against the proposal. The only substantive discussion at City Council occurred on June 2nd, by which time local MPP Wayne Gates had already launched a campaign that had galvanized the public opposed to the Ferris wheel.

“They have heard loud and clear. Because I'm on the (Niagara Parks) commission, I cannot say a lot of what gets discussed, but I can tell you that everybody's of the same thinking,” was the strongest statement made by Mayor Diodati at the Council meeting.

Despite growing calls to oppose the new observation wheel, it was not until a couple of hours before the town hall meeting hosted by Wayne Gates that attracted 1200 residents that the Mayor spoke directly to the Ferris wheel proposal. 

“Exciting news for @niagarafallsontario! Harry Oakes has proposed to modernize and replace our current Niagara SkyWheel, stepping up to answer the call from Destination Niagara while simultaneously preserving the iconic natural views & green space within @niagaraparks. There won’t be a second Ferris wheel in Queen Victoria Park,” announced Diodati.

Diodati will undoubtedly say that he needed to work behind the scenes to thwart the Ferris wheel but to many residents it was Wayne Gates who stood up and advocated for Niagara Falls.   

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