2022 Ottawa Municipal Election

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

Maybe. But mayors are far more likely to face consequences for higher home prices than NIMBY councillors.

I've never seen a Mayor being blamed for high home prices. If anything, home owners (66.6% home ownership rate in Ottawa) often use loss of home value as an argument against development.

Originally Posted by passwordisnt123

So just to sum up then, Watson doesn't want strong mayor powers. McKenney doesn't want them either and neither does Sutcliffe. Why the hell is Doug Ford foisting this US-style mayor power dynamics upon our city?

It's not about Ottawa. Just like when he was elected the first time around, he's introducing a significant change to the municipal level without ever even mentioning it once during the election campaign. Last time, he cut Toronto City Council nearly in half during the municipal election camping in an effort to remove power from his and his late brother's enemies. He's doing the same now, but decided to throw Ottawa into the mix to make it seem a little less obvious that he's targeting Toronto City Council.

Originally Posted by Williamoforange

It was part of a meeting on the HATF report in response to dean tester of Affordable Ottawa.

Currently, Brandon Bay, but they readily admit their running just to get airtime to the issue of housing in Ottawa. The rest haven't really put out a policy on what they will do about the subject.

Source? I'm sure they didn't just say that point blank. McKenney generally has a decent record of voting for development within existing zoning, and sometimes even over.

[J.OT13]

Discussion between Le Droit and McKenney.

https://www.ledroit.com/2022/07/25/l...36daf8086b4aaa

Providing some actual examples of where they would take funds and redistribute to higher priority items. Community development area grants (ex. Porshe Dealership on Montreal Road) and decontamination grants would no longer be awarded. Obviously, this is not enough for what they want to do, but it's a start. More than other candidates have given us so far.

They don't oppose Lansdowne, but would want to consult residents to see what they actually want instead of just building what the developers propose. For example, a large, outdoor community pool (lacking in Ottawa).

On the police budget, they say crime rates are going up, while recreation, social and community services are going down, suggesting that they would take some cash from the cops and redistribute them in City services (more community services and youth programs can prevent crimes, while cops are re-active to crime, sometimes).

On homeless shelters, they recognize that they are still needed for the foreseeable future, but we must do better with housing first (we often hear politicians outright refusing to invest in shelters, pointing to housing first as a better solution without actually providing a path to it, so this is a nice change of tone).

On reliability of the local bus network, the current bus system was built to bring suburbanites downtown, but that's no longer what is needed post-Covid. We have an opportunity to re-think public transportation. They give an example of Kanata South residents not being able to get to the Kanata North high-tech hub, thus showing that they are concerned about the suburbs as well.

[Williamoforange]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I've never seen a Mayor being blamed for high home prices. If anything, home owners (66.6% home ownership rate in Ottawa) often use loss of home value as an argument against development.

Source? I'm sure they didn't just say that point blank. McKenney generally has a decent record of voting for development within existing zoning, and sometimes even over.

Note: As it stands none of the other two frontrunners are any better, as they both lack any direct policy about housing. With one having a history of promoting sprawl.

There is the source, https://youtu.be/LYxjYV7_FII?t=2947, to paraphrase Ottawa is building enough housing as per the census data, as homes outpace households, which is based around a bad understanding of the census data.

https://mikepmoffatt.medium.com/debu...t-2ae48fb44e3e

They then go into a rant about 50 driveway and how it doesn't match their idea of demand, ignoring of course that Ottawa isn't building enough to meet demand for any type of unit.

There was data available at that time of those statements showing Ottawa was underbuilding, McKenney ignored this, there is now even further data showing Ottawa is not only underbuilding but under planning to meet future demand.

https://twitter.com/MikePMoffatt/sta...55333624389632

So when you refer to McKenney just supporting what is already zoned, that isn't a good thing. Why? Because again I'll state to you, McKenney, and horizon club, assuming the current zoning is "Correct" is a bad assumption and puts the city on a path towards exurban sprawl. Something the constant losing cases at OLT/OMB have shown to be false, the fast-paced growth of the exurbs and that the above data backs up. Its also false that they readily support development of housing in the city.

P.S SFH in the urban core of a city don't need a buffer from anything https://twitter.com/cmckenney/status...21540589981696

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Williamoforange

Or McKenney or Chiarelli or possibly Sutcliffe....

Yeah, strong mayor powers directed towards housing won't mean much if someone like McKenney who thinks Ottawa has built enough housing is voted in.

Currently none of the front runners are exactly that pro-housing (though the horizon/McKenney club is sure trying to paint Sutcliffe as a developer plant). Instead it looks like it's going to be 4 years of groundwork for massive increase in exurban population.

It's exurbs where plentiful land is available to really srive down cost of cookie cutter townhouses and SFHs. it's anti sprawl policies that are the main barrier. There is no crisis in expensive infill, high rises I'm central or suburban Ottawa it is all for housing that is cheap with a yard. Now I personally agree that sprawl isn't what we want UT that is what gets us cheap housing. A strong pro development mayor could push this through.

I'm general I think a strong mayor is more democratic as nobody pays attention to council races. I think Ottawa could from stronger direction even if that 4 years of strong mayor OBrien followed by 4 of Doucet.

[J.OT13]

The 2018 Orléans winner, Coun. Matthew Luloff, was the only one on the 2022 municipal election ballot in the redrawn Orléans East-Cumberland ward as of Friday.

Other incumbents who were the only ones signed up in their wards as of Friday included Riley Brockington in River, Laura Dudas in Orléans-Innes, Rawlson King in Rideau-Rockcliffe and Tim Tierney in Beacon Hill-Cyrville.

Update on this, Dudas and King are now the only ones running unopposed. Nominations close on August 19th.

[rocketphish]

Trees, electric vehicles, no more single-use plastics: Mayoral candidate Mark Sutcliffe unveils environment plan
Catherine McKenney and Bob Chiarelli, the other highest-profile contenders in a 13-person race, say they will shortly stake out their own climate-related stances.

Taylor Blewett, Ottawa Citizen
Aug 17, 2022 • 46 minutes ago • 4 minute read

If he’s elected to the mayor’s office, Mark Sutcliffe says Ottawa can expect to see more places to charge electric vehicles and e-bikes, a million trees planted by the end of his term and technology-based waste-to-energy solutions instead of a new dump or expansion of the existing landfill.

There are 26 more promises contained in the mayoral candidate’s environmental platform, and Sutcliffe said ahead of its public release on Wednesday that the predominant principle behind them was “to stop talking about climate change and start doing something about it.”

“The people that I’ve spoken with in the community are tired of all the talk about climate change, and they want to see leadership and leadership that leads to results.”

It’s the first in a series of issue-based platform releases by Sutcliffe, a broadcaster and entrepreneur who threw his hat into the mayor’s race in late June. The end result will be a full platform, he said, plus an associated financial and tax plan.

Sutcliffe said a number of the promises grew out of conversations with Hydro Ottawa, where he was told the goals were achievable: installing 200 electric vehicle and 100 e-bike charging stations on a cost-recovery basis and retrofits to city buildings.

Several of the promises relate to greening operations of the bureaucracy, such as transitioning Ottawa’s gas-powered fleet to fully electric or hybrid by 2030, constructing new city buildings to a net-zero standard, looking into the feasibility of bringing district heating and cooling to city hall and the provincial courthouse with other levels of government and one pledge that would start as soon as he took office: ceasing purchases of single-use plastics.

On his million-tree-planting plan — 250,000 annually over the term — Sutcliffe acknowledged it was “a hugely ambitious goal,” but said that was what was needed. “We need to be bold and we need to be ambitious because we want a cleaner and greener city, and that’s what people expect.”

As for how it would get done, he said, “It’s going to take a lot of work. It’s going to take a lot of collaboration. We’re going to bring the best people together from throughout the community. There are a number of organizations that have done some work in this area and we’re going to make it happen.”

A hot-button issue at city hall is the future of Ottawa’s Trail Road landfill, something the city is considering in its work on a new solid waste master plan. A 2021 staff report said the dump was projected to reach capacity between 2036 and 2038. On his commitment to “investigate and adopt proven technologies” checking the zero-emission, waste-to-energy box, instead of a new or expanded landfill, Sutcliffe said he had spoken with experts who believed it was doable and it reflected what the community wanted to see — and that’s not another landfill.

A candidate who’s running on a stated vision to make the city more affordable and keep taxes as low as possible, Sutcliffe shared his perspective that some of his major promises could address climate change and also save the city money in the long run — a large-scale version of the experience people encounter when they invest in energy-efficient appliances or home heating.

He also argued that every decision at city halls needed to be looked at through a climate lens.

Asked how he would operationalize that, “It starts at the top … so that’s why this is an ambitious plan,” Sutcliffe said. “City staff will know if I’m elected that I was elected on an aggressive, ambitious plan to address climate change. And they will know that these are the priorities of the people of Ottawa because they voted for me and they voted for this platform.

“And so it will be clear to the senior staff at city hall that there’s an expectation that we have to act on all of this, and that we have to start making decisions differently.”

Catherine McKenney and Bob Chiarelli, the other highest-profile contenders in a 13-candidate mayoral race, say they will be staking out their own climate-related stances.

McKenney, who uses the pronouns they/them, said they will have a full platform in the coming weeks, including on climate and transportation, but their plan included “more green buildings and homes in our city, increasing green space and the tree canopy, putting an end to costly urban sprawl, protecting our farmland from development, and building up our climate resiliency,” as well as creating “safe and walkable neighbourhoods with bike infrastructure and low-emissions transit across Ottawa.”

Chiarelli “will have significant positions on the environment, climate change and transit at an appropriate time, but not just yet,” a campaign spokesperson said.

Ottawans are expected to have an opportunity to hear mayoral candidates dig into these subjects at a series of mayoral debates on the environment set up by a group of local organizations, including Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability and Ecology Ottawa. They would have seen McKenney, but missed Sutcliffe and Chiarelli at the first one on Tuesday evening — the former had committed to a previously scheduled event, a campaign spokesperson said — but Sutcliffe plans to attend a later debate and Chiarelli is committed to the Aug. 30 and Sept. 28 events.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...vironment-plan

[J.OT13]

Good to see an environmental plan from Sutcliffe. Hope to hear his thoughts on waste diversion as well. 200 chargers for cars and 100 for e-bikes seems low. At least the overall plan seems achievable.

Libs at the Federal level have disappointed time and time again over the last 7 years. Where are the billion trees, the single use plastic ban promised years ago (deadline for the weak single use plastic ban proposed has been a moving target), HFR is moving at a snails pace, and has been watered down.

Back to the municipal campaign, I doubt Chiarelli will make any real commitments on an environmental front.

[rocketphish]

Ottawa voters have good choices for city council — sadly, many of them are competing
When choosing a city councillor, look for connection to the ward, a history of community involvement and relevant life or work experience

Randall Denley, Ottawa Citizen
Aug 16, 2022 • 1 day ago • 3 minute read

Despite all the veteran politicians who have told us what a terrible job being a city councillor is, an abundance of good candidates have stepped up to provide a new generation of leadership at City Hall. Unfortunately, many of them are running against each other.

Judging by the list of announced candidates just days before Friday’s deadline, the ward races fall into three categories; the predictable, the well contested, and those where there isn’t an obvious strong contender.

Let’s get the bad news out of the way. Sitting councillors Matt Luloff, Theresa Kavanagh, Tim Tierney and Riley Brockington are all lightly opposed. Laura Dudas and Rawlson King still have no opponent. Whatever those councillors’ merits, voters deserve a credible choice. For example, in Stittsville the perfectly adequate Glen Gower is being challenged by community volunteer Tanya Hein.

In many wards, the picture is much brighter. While it’s difficult to assess a candidate’s value without seeing them in action, voters should be looking for connection to the ward, a history of community involvement and relevant life or work experience. Warning signs are no website, no contact information and late entry into the race, although that latter point is not necessarily a disqualifier.

Some good councillors are not running again and it’s essential to replace their leadership. Two names that stand out in that regard are Steve Desroches and Patrick McGarry. Desroches is a former city councillor who vowed to quit after two terms and did in 2014. He’s running in Riverside South-Findlay Creek. Desroches was a moderate and sensible councillor. We need him back. McGarry is the chief operating officer of Hulse, Playfair and McGarry Funeral and Cremation Services. He would bring welcome and rare business experience to council. Better yet, McGarry is running in College Ward, where Coun. Rick Chiarelli either won’t run or won’t win.

Barrhaven residents, who have two wards now, have a rich choice in both. In Barrhaven East, Pat Brennan, a school trustee and financial planner, brings relevant experience but he’s part of a strong, five-person field. In Barrhaven West, Taayo Simmonds, a Black lawyer, and military veteran David Hill are worth careful examination.

Kanata will also contribute to the new council. Cathy Curry, appointed to council to fill out the remainder of Jenna Sudds’s term, has quickly become a major contributor and has earned re-election. In Kanata South, veteran councillor and transit commission chair Allan Hubley is opposed by three credible female candidates.

In West Carleton-March, there was some concern about who would step up to replace veteran Coun. Eli El-Chantiry, who made a late decision not to run. There are seven candidates in the race. Dunrobin tech executive and community association president Greg Patacairk seems to have a lot to offer.

Voters also have good choices in Alta Vista, where public servant and community association president Marty Carr is competing against Carolyn Kropp, who works for MPP John Fraser. In Orleans South-Navan, Coun. Catherine Kitts is up against Yvette Ashiri, a Black public servant with a record of accomplishment.

In Rideau-Jock, two candidates with roots in the community seem to be the leading contenders. Leigh-Andrea Brunet works in continuing education and David Brown has a background in farming and as a political assistant at city hall. Osgoode could be another interesting rural fight. Coun. George Darouze is being opposed by former councillor Doug Thompson, among others.

Knoxdale-Merivale pits Sean Devine, a former NDP candidate federally and provincially, against Myles Egli, the brother of retiring Coun. Keith Egli. Several others are also running.

In other wards, it’s difficult to see candidates of the calibre of Diane Deans, Mathieu Fleury and Catherine McKenney. The first two have retired and McKenney is running for mayor.

As it looks now, there will be some weak new councillors elected in October, and some weak veteran councillors re-elected. That’s why it’s critical for voters in wards with good choices to pick carefully.


Randall Denley is an Ottawa political commentator and author. Contact him at [email protected]

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/co...-are-competing

[rocketphish]

Ottawa's mayoral candidates pave the way for a campaign of ideas
The release of concrete policy statements from would-be leaders makes the race about ideas, rather than politics

Mohammed Adam, Ottawa Citizen
Aug 17, 2022 • 8 hours ago • 3 minute read

Elections are supposed to be about issues that matter to people, and that’s what we hope will happen in the municipal campaign. It’s why mayoral candidate Bob Chiarelli’s recent policy statements, including a tax freeze and suspension of the $330 million Lansdowne redevelopment project are such a welcome development. It sets the stage for a campaign of ideas all of us want.

How Chiarelli is going to freeze taxes in the face of high inflation and other challenges facing the city remains unclear. He obviously has more explaining to do. But what’s important for now is that he has put significant issues on the table for us to debate and dissect, and then decide what’s best for the city. This is what we should expect, indeed, demand from all candidates, including rivals Mark Sutcliffe and Catherine McKenney.

If elected, Chiarelli says he’ll freeze taxes, fees and discretionary spending in his first year. He will also suspend the $1 billion purchase of electric buses, defer Lansdowne 2.0 and halt new major road projects. It’s quite a task he has set himself given the city’s poor finances, but Chiarelli says a pause is necessary to get a true picture of city’s financial health before any serious planning can be done.

So, in his first 100 days he’ll ask for a root and branch review of the city’s finances by outside experts to come up with the savings needed to freeze taxes. “The mandate will be to find efficiencies that will not impact core services and get us through the first year while we put together a solid strategic plan,” he says.

The basic idea of getting city finances in order before big decisions are made is sound, and the other candidates may well be advised to follow suit before anyone starts throwing money at problems.

Of course, when politicians talk about finding savings or efficiencies, they really mean cuts. You can’t do something for nothing because there is always a price to pay. Chiarelli says he doesn’t like the word “cuts,” but that’s really what’s going to happen if he is going to absorb rising costs and still freeze taxes. We can only hope the cure is not worse than the disease.

While all the attention is on the tax freeze, Chiarelli’s plan to suspend the controversial Lansdowne 2.0 is significant. The main criticism against the redevelopment, beyond whether or not it is good business for the city, is that Ottawa residents were given no chance to have a say on the second phase of the redevelopment. City council approved its key elements with public consultations to come after the fact.

Now, with Chiarelli’s plan, Ottawa residents have a chance to debate the redevelopment, and we’ll see if it has public support. Let’s not forget however, that there would be a price to pay for delaying the project. City brass would definitely not be happy with a delay, and it would be interesting to see if the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group will hang around for a year. Delaying the purchase of electric buses for OC Transpo could be contentious. The purchase is part of the city’s plan to fight climate change, and there will be concern that a delay would undermine the city’s commitment.

Chiarelli’s plan raises a lot of questions and he will have to show us how he can deliver – just as we expect other candidates to do with their plans. But all that will be part of the debate the city would have in the coming weeks.

Sutcliffe says he would offer “zero-based budgeting,” including line-by-line spending review, and McKenney has promised “smart spending.” But we expect both to go beyond words and flesh out their plans in the weeks ahead. What Chiarelli has done by opening the door to a campaign of ideas is good for local democracy. Now, no candidate can get away with platitudes, and Ottawa voters have a chance to compare the plans of three evenly-matched candidates and make their choice.


Mohammed Adam is an Ottawa journalist and commentator. Reach him at [email protected]

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/co...paign-of-ideas

[passwordisnt123]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

She said that? Well that's disappointing.



Who is the least opposed to building more housing though? Or more broadly making housing more affordable.

William of Orange has a serious hatred of McKenney so take him with a big grain of salt. In reality, McKenney never said that. In fact not only has McKenney said the opposite, they've consistently been one of the only members of council who has supported intensification in their own ward rather than just in other peoples' wards like the cowards the fill the other council seats.

They gave a quote opposing the gross and likely crooked as a dog's hind leg deal to Watson's friends on the Tewin project. William of Orange can try and take out of context to suggest McKenney's anti-intensification but the actions show that the opposite is true.

[Williamoforange]

Originally Posted by passwordisnt123

William of Orange has a serious hatred of McKenney so take him with a big grain of salt. In reality, McKenney never said that. In fact not only has McKenney said the opposite, they've consistently been one of the only members of council who has supported intensification in their own ward rather than just in other peoples' wards like the cowards the fill the other council seats.

They gave a quote opposing the gross and likely crooked as a dog's hind leg deal to Watson's friends on the Tewin project. William of Orange can try and take out of context to suggest McKenney's anti-intensification but the actions show that the opposite is true.

Am I a Fan of McKenney no. Nor am I have a fan of any of the Horizon club of which McKenney is a member.

However I provided proof of my statements. While yours is misleading at best, McKenney supports intensification when it is within the current zoning, and the current zoning does not meet either the old or the new official plan. McKenney also take no issue with making false statements even after staff have corrected them such as buying the rail yard being a gift to SNC/lavalin. They also voted against the new hospital project. They have spoken out against numerous developments that go over zoning and consistently try to derail them by adding costs that make the projects unviable. Originally rejected 180 Metcalfe due to it having a hotel.

There actions speak clearly that they aren't in favour of intensification to the levels required to meet demand.

P.S: Peoples choice of allies do provide insight into what their actual positions are, and Horizon is anti-development.

[Proof Sheet]

Rick Chiarelli didn't register. Not surprising. Anyone with an iota of a functioning brain cell wouldn't have voted for him.

[rocketphish]

And they're off! The field is set for Ottawa's next council
The last time there was such a transition at city hall was a dozen years ago. A lot — LRT, COVID, 'Freedom convoy'— has changed since then

Bruce Deachman, Ottawa Citizen
Aug 19, 2022 • 58 minutes ago • 3 minute read

Twelve years ago, Ottawa voters elected a whopping 10 new councillors and a new mayor.

We’re about to do it again, this time more by attrition than by choice, but with no less at stake.

That fistfuls of new councillors won seats on Oct. 25, 2010, was remarkable because the electorate, historically content to let sleeping dogs govern, sent six incumbents packing, the first time since amalgamation that any incumbent councillor, apart from a mayor, had been defeated. The four other newbies that year won their seats in contests without incumbents.

That election, though, followed a tumultuous term with the polarizing Larry O’Brien at the helm, much of it while he was under investigation or answering to criminal charges. O’Brien indicated he was having a hard time coming up with reasons to run for re-election and although he did, voters who were anxious for less bombast picked up on his cue and agreed there weren’t enough good reasons to bring him back.

The new guy, though, was hardly new, but rather a recycled mayor. Jim Watson, who served in the top post prior to amalgamation, was reinstalled, and subsequently twice re-elected, both times handily.

On Oct. 24, voters will elect an equally or larger fresh slate, including a new mayor and 11 or more new councillors, 10 in wards where incumbents chose not to run again (one set their sights on the mayor’s office), and one in the newly created Barrhaven East ward. In yet another — Kanata North — incumbent Cathy Curry, who was appointed to the post after Jenna Sudds left for federal politics, faces her first campaign for the seat.

(Note that candidates had until 2 p.m. Friday to register, but the city promised a final list by Monday, so some late additions may yet be revealed.)

The mood is different this time around, though. A dozen years ago, the Lansdowne development had only just been approved, and LRT was still a shiny pair of rails stretching into an exciting future.

Today, LRT is a dog’s breakfast of failure. Lansdowne is, well, what it is: an uninspiring improvement over the cracked pavement from whence it rose.

Meanwhile, we’ve got an interim police chief after a month-long occupation of the downtown core that, with subsequent periodic incursions, still has residents on edge. Affordable housing remains a hopeless oxymoron for many. The streets are an auto mechanic’s godsend. The COVID-19 pandemic, though hardly anything to lay at council’s feet, has nonetheless drained city coffers and exposed and/or exacerbated a host of local social issues that stand little chance of relief against the perennial cry of no new taxes.

Deserving or not, this is the lunar landscape being bequeathed to the new council, and voters would do well to pay attention. Voter turnout for municipal elections is typically low – between 40 and 45 per cent in the last three campaigns, lower than provincial and federal elections.

But it’s at city council where decisions that most affect residents’ daily lives — roads, snow removal, by-laws, social services, recreation, land development, transit, libraries, arts and culture and emergency responders and public health — are made. You owe it to yourself and your neighbours to learn about the candidates for mayor and in your ward and vote for those who best reflect your concerns.

Three mayoral contenders have arguably realistic chances of slipping into Watson’s robes and chains: Bob Chiarelli, who served two terms as mayor before losing to O’Brien in 2006; Catherine McKenney, who gave up their Somerset ward seat to run and is probably the most socially active viable candidate to run for mayor since Alex Munter in 2006; and Mark Sutcliffe, a community volunteer and entrepreneur-turned-politician making his first run at elected office.

Recall that O’Brien didn’t play well with others, while Watson, despite repeatedly proclaiming that he had just one vote among 24 on council, routinely stacked committees to favour his agenda, leaving many councillors out of the power loop.

But overall, there are 14 mayoral candidates, and at least 101 others hoping to sit on council. You’ve got some homework to do, and 66 days left to get it done.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...s-next-council

[rocketphish]

14 people running to be Ottawa mayor after nominations close
More than 100 have registered to run for council Oct. 24, but College ward’s Rick Chiarelli isn't among them

Joanne Chianello · CBC News
Posted: Aug 19, 2022 4:08 PM ET | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

A sitting councillor, a former mayor and a local broadcaster are among the 14 people vying for mayor in this fall's municipal election, which will usher in wide-ranging change on Ottawa's city council

The deadline to register to run for council and local school boards closed at 2 p.m. Friday across Ontario.

In Ottawa, the elections office did a brisk business Friday, with back-to-back appointments for most of the day. A last-minute registrant for mayor — 19-year-old Jacob Solomon — means, among other things, that Ottawa voters will have an extra-long ballot.

Only 13 candidates fit on a letter-sized form, so this year's ballot will be legal length.

Almost two dozen people registered on the last possible day, bringing the total number of candidates running for council to 120, slightly higher than in 2018.

In the end, 106 candidates signed up to run for city councillor, but embattled College ward Coun. Rick Chiarelli wasn't one of them.

Through a statement from his office in June, Chiarelli said he expected to run for re-election and had made an appointment for late Thursday. But he didn't show up to that appointment, and didn't register on the last day of registration, either.

In 2020, Chiarelli's pay was suspended for 450 days over behaviour the city's then-integrity commissioner deemed to be harassment of a sexual nature.

City council and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark both called for Chiarelli to resign, but he refused.

Since then the College ward councillor has faced shocking new allegations, but because the current integrity commissioner's investigation was not finished by Friday, it must be put on hold for the duration of the election campaign. And because Chiarelli isn't running, it's unclear if it will be completed.

This will be the first election in more than a decade where the name Jim Watson won't appear on the ballot. But other familiar names will be.

Former mayor and Liberal cabinet minister Bob Chiarelli registered to run on the first day nominations were open, back on May 2. Since then he's promised to freeze property taxes and spending for 2023 if he's elected.

Current Somerset ward Coun. Catherine McKenney (who uses the pronoun they/them) has spent the summer campaigning to make Ottawa the greenest, healthiest and "most connected" city in Canada, "where everyone has a home." Their full platform is expected after Labour Day.

Well-known broadcaster and entrepreneur Mark Sutcliffe entered the race just before Canada Day. He's promising a safer city by providing "adequate" funding to police, firefighters and paramedics, and being "tough on the causes of crime." He's also promising to keep taxes and recreation fees "as low as possible."

Also registered for the mayoral race are Brandon Bray, Zed Chebib, Bernard Couchman, Celine Debassige, Gregory Guevara, Nour Kadri, Graham MacDonald, Mike Maguire, Ade Olumide, Param Singh and previously mentioned Solomon.

That someone new will replace Watson — Ottawa's longest-serving mayor — making this race one of the most important in more than a decade. But when you consider that almost half the faces around the council table will be different, 2022 is shaping up to be a true change election.

Of the 25 seats in that will comprise next term's council — the ward of Barrhaven east is being added to represent the fast-growing community — 12 will be newcomers.

It is therefore no surprise that some of the most contested races are in wards where the incumbent isn't seeking re-election. Ten people want to represent Rideau-Vanier, where Mathieu Fleury isn't seeking re-election. In West-Carleton March, where long-time councillor Eli El-Chantiry said he's not running, seven candidates have signed up.

Also not returning to City Hall on Nov. 15 (the new date that successful candidates will be sworn in) are veterans Diane Deans and Jan Harder, leaving their respective wards of Gloucester-Southgate and Barrhaven West wide open.

And with McKenney running for mayor, Somerset will be electing a new representative.

After 12 years on council, Keith Egli of Knoxdale-Merivale and Scott Moffatt of Rideau Jock ward have also said they're not putting their names on the 2022 ballot.

And Alta Vista ward, held for two terms by Jean Cloutier, will also be incumbent-free.

One-term councillor Carol Anne Meehan had originally planned to run again in Gloucester-South Nepean, but withdrew late last month, saying it was time to check off items on her "bucket list."

Until earlier this week, it looked like a couple of council incumbents were on their way to being acclaimed. But on Thursday, candidates signed up to challenge both Laura Dudas in the re-mapped and renamed Orléans West-Innes ward, and Rawlson King in Rideau-Rockcliffe.

There are, however, six candidates running for the French public and Catholic schools boards who appear to be acclaimed. There are a total of 90 candidates registered for the region's four school boards.

And unlike in 2018, no third-party advertisers have registered to participate in this year's municipal election campaign.

The candidate list won't be official until city clerk Rick O'Connor certifies the applications. He'll check to see that each candidate has entered an eligible address, gathered 25 signatures and is allowed to run in a municipal election.

The deadline for listing the certified candidates online is 4 p.m. Monday.

Because some of the ward boundaries have been changed since 2018, residents should double-check to see which ward they live in by entering their address using Election Ottawa's "Who is running in my ward?" online tool.

For the first time, Ottawa voters will be able to cast a ballot by mail. The city tried it for the first time during the 2020 Cumberland byelection and is rolling it out city-wide this year. Residents will have to apply for a special ballot, which they can do between Sept. 1 and 16.

There will also be six advance voting days starting later in September, in addition to election day on Oct. 24.

Registered candidates are eligible to receive donations and spend money. Individuals can donate a total of $5,000 during the campaign, but only up to $1,200 to a single candidate.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...osed-1.6555726

[rocketphish]

The deadline has passed to register for this fall's municipal election. Here are your choices for the next mayor of Ottawa

Joanne Laucius, Ottawa Citizen
Aug 19, 2022 • 46 minutes ago • 6 minute read

The race is really on now.

Candidates for mayor has until Friday at 2 p.m. to register. As of Friday morning, 10 candidates had been nominated.

It will be a crowded ballot. With Jim Watson’s name not on the ballot for the first time since 2010 in the amalgamated city, voters will face choices old and new.

Here’s who’s in the running, as of 2 p.m. on Friday. A final certified list will be released late Monday afternoon.

Catherine McKenney

About the candidate: A political staffer for city councillors Diane Holmes and Alex Munter and NDP MPs Ed Broadbent and Paul Dewar before they ran for office, McKenney has served as councillor for Somerset Ward since 2014 and is known known for embracing progressive initiatives to support affordable house and supports for marginalized residents.

The platform: McKenney said they will make Ottawa the greenest city in Canada. Priorities include investing in social services and supports for Ottawa’s most vulnerable and encouraging active transportation and recreation and green initiatives that will making walking and cycling safer and more convenient. They urge climate action, including creating a plan to make the city more resilient in the face of extreme weather. They also support creating a more vibrant city through the arts, entertainment and culture sector. McKenney argues that Ottawa can become a city that works better for everyone and stays fiscally responsible at the same time.

Website: www.mckenney2022.ca


Bob Chiarelli

The candidate: Chiarelli is a lawyer with extensive experience in municipal and provincial politics. He won his first provincial election in Ottawa West as a Liberal candidate in 1987, and was re-elected in 1990 and 1995. He was mayor of Ottawa between 2001 to 2006, when he came in third in a three-way race against Alex Munter and Larry O’Brien, who won the election. He re-entered provincial politics in the 2010 Ottawa West-Nepean by-election, and was re-elected in 2011 and 2014, but lost in a tight three-way race in the 2018 election. Chiarelli has served in the provincial cabinet with portfolios including infrastructure and transportation, energy and municipal affairs and housing.

The platform: Chiarelli says he has a track record for building consensus at a time when the city faces a fiscal reckoning. “We have to get back control of City finances before we can afford the extras that we all want,” he tweeted this week. If elected, Chiarelli pledges to freeze taxes, fees and non-discretionary spending in the first year of his mandate and will put on hold the $332 million redevelopment of Lansdowne Park. His plan includes getting outside financial experts to review city operations within 100 days of the new council taking office to find efficiencies that will not impact core services until a strategic plan is developed. On the environmental front, Chiarelli would create a city council committee to work with Hydro Ottawa to develop climate change and carbon reduction policies.

Website: bobchiarelli.ca


Mark Sutcliffe

The candidate: A journalist, entrepreneur and business mentor, Sutcliffe co-founded the Ottawa Business Journal and worked on Newstalk 580 CFRA and CityNews and as executive editor and a columnist for the Ottawa Citizen. He has never run for office before.

The platform: Sutcliffe’s main aims are to keep taxes low, fix LRT, improve roads and make Ottawa safer. He pledges to adequately fund police, fire, and paramedic services and be tough on the causes of crime, address housing affordability and keep taxes and recreation fees as low as possible. This week, he released the details of his environmental platform, which included installing 200 electric vehicle charging stations and 100 e-bike charging stations and doubling the city’s tree planting goals. Meanwhile, Sutcliffe said Chiarelli’s tax freeze proposal is not credible, and something Chiarelli was not able to achieve when he was last mayor. Sutcliffe proposes a review of city expenses, with a view to protecting services.

Website: marksutcliffe.ca


Mike Maguire

The candidate: A management consultant who lives in Kars, Maguire ran for mayor an 2010 and 2014, when he came in a distant second against Jim Watson.

The platform: A self-described fiscal conservative, Maguire has returned to a proposal from his 2014 campaign to use existing rail corridors to create a commuter service, and wants to restore OC Transpo bus routes for residents who find the LRT to be inconvenient. Maguire said he will release more details about proposals for affordable housing, including reviewing and streamlining planning processes to increase housing starts and using zoning to allow for the construction of homes costing less than $400,000 for entry-level buyers.

Website: mikeforottawa.ca


Brandon Bay

The candidate: Software developer Brandon Bay manages the software development team at Welbi, which builds software for retirement communities. He grew up near Bancroft, attended the University of Ottawa and is an active volunteer.

Platform: Bay’s priorities include affordable housing, investment and using Ottawa’s upcoming bicentennial in 2026 as an opportunity to boost the city’s economy, reputation and reconciliation with Indigenous communities. Among other proposals, he wants to ban development of new strip malls across the city and intensify existing malls, as well as developing suburban city centres to accelerate building 15-minute communities. He also wants to eliminate exclusionary R1 and R2 zoning, allowing duplexes, triplexes, and townhomes across the city without changes to building heights.


Nour Kadri

The candidate: Kadri is a professor of strategic management & e-business at the University of Ottawa and president & CEO of Skyline Health Systems.

The platform: Kadri wants Ottawa to be an inclusive and livable city. He urges commitment to equity, anti-racism, and Indigenous reconciliation and leveraging Ottawa’ engineering, science and governmental communities to deliver high tech jobs, sustainable infrastructure and service delivery.

Website: www.kadri.ca


Graham MacDonald

The candidate: The CEO of Ottawa Mortuary Services, MacDonald has worked with Ottawa Police to develop a mass casualty plan in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster and has coordinated military burials.

The platform: MacDonald said he has attended death and crime scenes in and around Ottawa and cites mental health, addictions and overdoses, public safety and homelessness as being among the his key issues. He said he would urge city council to appoint a “mental health officer” role similar to a Medical Officer of Health to oversee mental health services.

Website: www.macdonald4mayor.com


Param Singh

The candidate: A native of Montreal, Param Singh has been a police officer with the Ottawa Police Service since 2002.

The platform: Singh has identified diversity, affordable housing and transit among his priorities. He says he will create a transit system review committee of experts to review existing transit issues with the aim of providing practical recommendations. He also also wants to make the EquiPass for low-income residents more affordable.
Article content

Website: www.voteparam.com


Bernard Couchman

The candidate: Couchman, now in his third mayoral campaign, has a background in business and marketing.

Website: h2oboy.com/products/mayor-of-ottawa-2022-bernard-couchman


Ade Olumide

The candidate: Olumide has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Lagos and master’s in business management from the University of Warwick. He is the former president of the Ottawa Taxpayer Advocacy Group.

Website: www.adeolumide.ca


Celine Debassige

Contact: https://www.instagram.com/celinedebassige/?hl=en


Gregory Jreg Guevara

No website as been listed by the city of Ottawa.


Zeb Chebib

There was no website listed by the city of Ottawa.


Jacob Solomon

The candidate: Solomon filed his nomination papers on Friday.

The platform: Solomon wants to make the bus and train free, legalize public drinking, more and better path paths, a walkable downtown, pianos on the streets and more trash bins.

Website: The website jacobsolomonmay.com had not been activated as of Friday.


https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...ayor-of-ottawa

[passwordisnt123]

The greatest endorsement of McKenney could possibly receive is William of Orange's weird obsessive hatred of them. If a person that toxic hates McKenney, McKenney's a-ok in my books.

More specifically their vote against the disastrous auto-centric, backward-thinking, suburban-inspired new Civic caused me to donate $100 to McKenney. I'll double my donation if they came out even stronger against it.

[acottawa]

This is an awful field.

McKinney is my local councillor. She is a good constituency councillor, I emailed her once and got a quick follow up. Her newsletter seems to indicate she works hard. For a city that is 90% suburb I don’t think her platform will fly though.

Charelli’s sour grapes at voters rejecting his moronic streetcar to nowhere is a big reason for our current LRT mess. He was an absolutely terrible mayor.

I have no idea who these other people are.

[danishh]

McKenny, Chiarelli, and Sutcliffe seem to be the only credible candidates to me and if that's the case i guess i'm voting McKenny.

[rocketphish]

The province's 'strong mayor' bill goes way beyond housing
Bill 3 could give mayors in Ottawa and Toronto unprecedented control

Joanne Chianello · CBC News
Posted: Aug 22, 2022 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Affordability is possibly the hottest political topic in Ontario at the moment.

It was a top issue in this past spring's provincial election, and is certain to be a key issue in local campaigns leading up to the Oct. 24 municipal elections.

So perhaps it's no surprise that the Progressive Conservative government's unexpected proposed legislation to give the mayors of Ottawa and Toronto far more unilateral power by Nov. 15 is being presented as a way to get more homes built — which the province argues will also make homes more affordable.

But Bill 3, called the "Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, 2022", which passed second reading last week and has been sent to committee, is set to give those mayors powers over city matters that expand well beyond increasing the supply of homes.

A mayor could single-handedly write the budget, reorganize the structure of the city and directly hire department general managers (with a few exceptions), choose the chairs of all committees and boards — including police and health — and veto bylaws.

Clearly these powers could help a new mayor achieve their priorities more easily and quickly than the current system allows. After all, a mayor is elected by voters from across the city, which gives them a mandate to move forward with their campaign promises, whether that's reducing greenhouse gases or expanding transit or constricting property tax increases.

However, the legislation — if passed in its current form — has the potential to transform the municipal government system into one that includes fewer checks and balances, is more open to cronyism and, in the wrong hands, abuse of power.

What decisions by Ottawa city council impeded a housing project or housing affordability and could have been improved upon with the new strong mayor powers?

CBC put that question to Ontario's minister of municipal affairs and housing, Steve Clark, when he was in Ottawa last week.

Clark said the best example is the statistic that Canada has one of the lowest levels of housing-per-capita ratios of any OECD country. He also said his government's housing affordability task showed there were "very big inconsistencies in getting shovels in the ground at a national level."

Not exactly a direct answer.

Perhaps he believes Ottawa's development charges are too high, or that the official plan didn't include enough expansion. But these are decisions that Mayor Jim Watson — not exactly considered a radical — supported. So even if Watson had had a special veto power, he would not have needed to use it.

(A pertinent side note: Clark has been sitting on Ottawa's official plan since it was passed last October. The planning blueprint calls for intensification and urban boundary expansion, which should lead to increased housing supply, but the minister still hasn't approved it. It's unclear what changes, if any, that Clark may ask for or impose.)

Here's a possible future example. The city is now working on a comprehensive zoning bylaw to match the new official plan, whenever it is finally approved, It's expected to be ready for council approval in 2024. But the next mayor could veto the bylaw if they believe it could "interfere with a prescribed provincial priority."

Which priority does it relate to, and how might the huge bylaw interfere with it? Excellent questions. One of the concerning aspects of this bill is that those provincial priorities will be spelled out later in the act's regulations.

Shouldn't we know the precise language of those priorities before passing a new law that gives the mayor the power to uphold them?

It's true that two-thirds of council could supersede the mayor's veto, but the wide range of powers could make any override difficult.

Because the bill is proposing to give mayors power to organize both the political and bureaucratic arms of city hall, and directly appoint — and dismiss — department and committee heads, it will be much easier for them to have control over the municipal government.

Consider this post-election scenario. Ottawa's new mayor sets up eight standing committees and names like-minded councillors to chair them. Those chairs are also members of a new executive committee that deals with important matters before they proceed to full council.

Now, with all this extra work these councillors will have chairing committees and being on the council executive, the mayor may decide they should all be paid an additional 10 or 20 per cent, or about $10,00 to $20,000. So there's suddenly some financial incentive, as well as political motivation, to be in the mayor's inner circle.

And because the mayor writes the budget — which, by the way, is not constrained by the provincial priorities — the mayor's nine-person executive committee would be able to block any veto overrides to the budget or other bylaws, because it constitutes more than a third of the 25-member council.

A similar scenario could play out in Toronto, too, where Mayor John Tory has already said he supports expanding the power of the mayor's office.

If the aim of these new powers is truly to build more homes, it's not clear why the province wants to give mayors unilateral power to hire not just the city manager and planning head, but also the general managers of the public works department, environmental services, infrastructure, or emergency and protective services.

As Mayor Jim Watson has shown during his record-holding term of office, the head of council can have considerable sway at city hall. It's unlikely that any public servant was named to a high-level position at the city without a thumb's up from Watson's office.

But this new system goes a step beyond moral and political persuasion. It would allow a mayor to appoint friends and supporters to roles who may not be the most qualified, or who are overtly political, instead of civil servants who are supposed to act objectively and give their best professional opinions.

There seem to be few ways to stop a mayor who's bent on abusing the new law, save for the risk of not being re-elected in four years. Perhaps that's what the province intends. But that does leave a lot of time for a mayor to wield considerable power at city hall — power that has little or nothing to do with housing.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...sing-1.6558071

[J.OT13]

Hilarious Le Droit interview with Great-Uncle Bob from late July.

The highlights:

• Watson was a terrible Mayor, we now need someone with experienced (cause Watson wasn't experienced?)
• He seems to think Sutcliffe was hand picked by Durrell and Watson (arguably two of the best Mayors of Ottawa, and that's a bad thing?)
• Due to the high inflation and financial issues at the City, he can't promise a tax hike ceiling (proceeds to promise a freeze for one year two weeks later!)
• Cancel Lansdowne 2.0 (not just put it on hold.)
• On climate change, he says City dosen't even have a plan (but in reality, they do have a plan and Chiarelli has yet to propose anything on that front.)
• Salvation Army in Vanier "oh, I read about it, but I wasn't involved. what I know is what I read. council was dysfunctional... (basically, no strong opinion either way because he probably dosen't care about homelessness, Vanier or the French community.)
• And the one that blows the rest out of the water... drum roll pleases - bus drivers are taken off SUBURBAN routes to supplement problematic URBAN routes!!!!! In what world does he live in? Urban bus are like playing Russian Roulette, both in the guessing game of whether the bus will show or not and then by risking a Covid infection in a packed bus, while empty suburban routes run like clock work, and when the train is down, they further deplete from the urban routes to run R1s.

This guy is just soooo out of touch!! He's just going to bring us back to the 70s to the early 2000s when Ottawa was visionless and only catered to suburban voters. Watson was suburban minded for sure, but he was nowhere near as bad as Chiarelli. We got Lansdowne, the library, the OAG, decent bike infrastructure, the subway tunnel. Considering the densification, we haven't seen the level of investment needed, but we did get major improvements none-the-less. With Chiarelli, the inner-Greenbelt could very well be completely abandoned.

30 juillet 2022 3h00

Bob Chiarelli mise sur son expérience

Julien Paquette, Le Droit

Bob Chiarelli estime que son expérience professionnelle est un atout pour la Ville d’Ottawa dans la conjoncture actuelle, un point sur lequel il a insisté dans le cadre d’une entrevue avec Le Droit pour parler de sa vision pour la municipalité dont il souhaite redevenir maire.

C’est dans un restaurant situé au centre de la capitale fédérale, à l’angle des chemins Woodroffe et Baseline que le candidat à la mairie attendait le représentant du Droit. Le Chances R du centre commercial College Square est pratiquement plein, même au milieu de l’après-midi. De nombreux retraités s’y étaient donné rendez-vous jeudi, au moment de notre rencontre avec M. Chiarelli.

«Je viens ici souvent», indique en souriant celui qui a été maire d’Ottawa de 2000 à 2006.

Le transport en commun, les services policiers, le parc Lansdowne et les finances de la municipalité ont tous en commun qu’au moment d’en parler, le politicien d’expérience souligne le besoin de ramener la stabilité.

«Il y a beaucoup d’incertitudes en ce moment et il faudra une bonne gestion expérimentée pour les gérer. On pourrait se retrouver avec un nouveau maire qui n’a jamais été maire auparavant, qui n’a jamais été élu. Pour ces enjeux, qui seront ses conseillers?», demande Bob Chiarelli.

«Jim Watson cherchait un candidat. Jim Durrell cherchait un candidat. Brandon McGuinty cherchait un candidat. Ils ont trouvé leur homme et il est maintenant dans la course à la mairie. Si M. Sutcliffe est élu maire pour gérer des opérations de 6 milliards de dollars, sans expérience, où va-t-il chercher des conseils d’après vous? C’est un Watson 2.0», lance-t-il au sujet d’un de ses principaux adversaires.

M. Chiarelli soutient qu’il tente à nouveau sa chance en politique municipale afin de s’assurer qu’une personne d’expérience soit de la course à la mairie, pour donner cette option aux électeurs qui s’inquiètent des problèmes des dernières années, comme le train léger, la croissance de la dette municipale et l’inflation.

«Que je gagne ou que je perde, je crois que j’ajoute quelque chose à la dynamique, aux débats», lance l’ex-maire d’Ottawa.

Prudence

Bob Chiarelli ne fait aucune promesse en matière de hausses de taxes. Il estime qu’il serait mal avisé de promettre un plafond à ces augmentations à l’heure actuelle.

«Je ferai tout en mon pouvoir pour limiter les hausses de taxes, s’engage M. Chiarelli. Le taux d’inflation qui est quelque part entre 6 et 8%. […] On doit l’ajouter à tout ce que la Ville doit acheter, que ce soit de l’essence, des réparations sur des véhicules ou des tondeuses pour les parcs.»

L’ex-maire et ex-ministre provincial des Infrastructures indique avoir des idées d’économies qui peuvent être réalisées au sein de la Ville, mais s’est gardé de les dévoiler durant l’entrevue avec Le Droit, préférant les dévoiler plus tard durant la campagne.

Le prochain conseil municipal devrait également faire preuve de prudence avant d’approuver de grandes dépenses, selon Bob Chiarelli. S’il est élu, il s’opposerait par exemple à l’investissement de 330 millions pour la reconstruction de l’estrade nord de la Place TD et de l’aréna qui se trouve à l’intérieur.

«À mon avis, on n’a pas les moyens de construire un nouvel aréna et de nouvelles estrades, lance M. Chiarelli. Ils vont devoir servir la communauté encore un peu plus longtemps, jusqu’à ce que l’économie et les finances de la Ville se soient stabilisées.»

https://www.ledroit.com/2022/07/30/b...b2540fb78fd65f