Bob Chiarelli ponders run for mayor, sees city 'crisis' issues
Kelly Egan, Ottawa Citizen
Publishing date: May 13, 2021 • 23 minutes ago • 4 minute read
Bob Chiarelli is seriously thinking of running for mayor of Ottawa.
Think of the possible voting dilemma: elect the city’s oldest-ever mayor or stay with Ottawa’s longest-serving — an election overseen by Father Time, the “out with the old, in with the old” slogans ready to be written.
Chiarelli will be 81 when the election is held in October 2022, a three-time grandfather. He is, of course, ready for the obvious question.
“It’s up to the voter,” he said Wednesday. “If they think I’m too old, they won’t vote for me.” He points to John Baird, elected an MPP at 26, and Hazel McCallion, mayor of Mississauga well into her 90s — as though, in politics, there is no such thing as too much age, or too little.
“I’m not concerned about that.”
And, honestly, chronological age is probably not as much an issue as this: will he merely be dismissed as “yesterday’s man”, as he’s had a long record as mayor, MPP and around Ontario’s cabinet table, or viewed as the wise agent to navigate the future?
He was last mayor of Ottawa 15 years ago (2001-2006), after being chair of regional government for four years. There is no doubting his political experience but, one wonders in 2021, why do it, and against another centrist, longtime Liberal, incumbent Jim Watson?
“I’ve got the bug. I’ve got a lot of ideas. Every time I see something, I think ‘why don’t they do it this way, or that way?'”
Since being defeated in the Ontario election of 2018 (losing to Conservative Jeremy Roberts in Ottawa West-Nepean), he says he hasn’t retired, merely switched gears, re-opening a consultancy, being active in the community, and exercising up to two hours a day.
He sounded dismayed that Watson, 60 this year and now the city’s longest-serving, has never been measured against a lively mix of serious challengers.
“The voters in our community deserve a real election this time, where there is a real choice, with competing visions,” he said, quite hustings-like.
“There are serious issues in our city that have grown to crisis or near crisis levels and they need to be addressed in the next election, and by a new council.”
The first he mentioned was traffic congestion, which he says is creating “unacceptable” travel delays and pollution, while dragging down our overall quality of life.
“We know what the city looks like. It’s a parking lot coming in from Kanata, coming in from Barrhaven, coming in from the east. I can tell you I’ve heard so many comments over the last couple of years about how bad, how quality-of-life defeating the congestion is.”
He said the solution is not necessarily more and wider roads, but pointed to a vague timeline to extend LRT to Kanata sometime after 2031. Meanwhile, he said, there is talk of somehow privately ferrying high-tech workers from the Moodie end of Phase 2 into the heart of Silicon Valley North.
“The growth has not been properly managed.”
Chiarelli, who has experience as an Ontario minister of infrastructure, transportation and municipal services, also highlighted the state of our roads, a symptom of a long-neglected maintenance problem.
“The conditions of the roads are deplorable. People complain all the time.”
As for finances, Chiarelli described a worrisome increase in Ottawa’s net debt, which jumped by a $1 billion between 2015 and 2019, when it sat in excess of $2.5 billion.
He repeatedly spoke of his reputation as a “consensus-builder” and even hinted that the downtown arena plan — in tatters — may be salvageable.
“I think that the LeBreton situation, with the Senators, is resolvable.”
When it comes to intensification, which has rattled many a neighbourhood in urban Ottawa, he said he favours it along arterials, like Scott Street or Carling Avenue or Richmond Road, but not so much on neighbourhood streets where little kids patter along on bicycles.
Chiarelli says he likely won’t make up his mind until the first quarter of 2022. Watson, meanwhile, intends to declare in the fall.
“I like creating things. I like making things happen,” said Chiarelli. “I’m getting a lot of encouragement and support going forward.”
It would certainly make for an interesting candidacy. You do wonder if “congestion” and “infrastructure deficit” are not the sexiest wardrobe for a political comeback. (I mean, when did we not complain about roads, traffic and taxes?)
And LRT Phase 2 completion, coupled with a permanent shake-up on where we work — hello, permanent home office — will likely muddy any planning for our commuting needs. (Traffic jam, what traffic jam?)
But hand it to the cunning, old warhorse: he’s stirred election waters 18 months early.
To contact Kelly Egan, please call 613-291-6265 or email [email protected]
Twitter.com/kellyegancolumn
https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...-crisis-issues
Prev
it’d be like a Back to the Future election regurgitating the last two decades 
Linear Mode
