There are 24 City of Ottawa municipal government races currently underway. Some are real dog fights and others are just cake walks. By cake walk I mean, they are not facing any real competition or they have done good enough job to have a plurality of their voting constituents lined up to re-elect them. There are ten wards in play either because the sitting councillor has vacated the seat or the incumbent has a serious challenger. Below, I am making the easy endorsements in the fourteen safe seats around the council table.
Let's start with Jim Watson for Mayor. I have already written about why I support and endorse Jim for re-election. Mike McGuire is his only real challenger and he's running the same losing campaign that Tim Hudak ran for the Ontario PC's.
Ward 1 Orléans - Bob Monette gets my endorsement even though he's getting to the outer limits of his best before date. Bob has done a good job for this eastern ward. Besides the loud put-up-your-dukes moments by his repeat challenger Jennifer Robitaille, he should win his ward again.
Ward 3 Barrhaven - Jan Harder gets my endorsement. I have had to switch since coming out against her on Twitter when she announced her reelection bid. What's wrong with people in Barrhaven? Is there no credible candidate to challenge this long time councillor? Oh well, another four years for Jan.
Ward 5 West Carleton-March - Eli El-Chantiry gets my nod. He is a solid politician who should be thinking about seeking higher office. Eli should either run for mayor in 2018 or run provincially or federally. He's done as much as he can really accomplish at the municipal level. He is a great Police Board Chair.
Ward 6 Stittsville - Shad Qadri, our only visible minority on council, gets my vote. He's quiet but gets the job done for Stittsville. He's always accessible and takes his job seriously.
Ward 7 Bay - Mark Taylor gets my endorsement. Although he is being challenged by Alex Cullen, the large slate will work against Alex again. Mark has done what is expected of a city councillor with a steady hand and knowledgeable tact. He replaces Steve Desroches as a model councillor who focuses on what needs to get done as opposed to hogging the media glare.
Ward 8 College - Rick Chiarelli is the councillor for this ward. A long time councillor with lots of corporate knowledge, Rick usually offers good arguments in many city debates. He's good to have around the table.
Ward 9 Knoxdale-Merivale - Keith Egli has earned a second term. A first time councillor, Keith has done good by his ward and a good job as chair of the transportation committee. He has stick handled the row between the NCC and the city very well. We need intelligent people around the table and Keith is one of them.
Ward 11 Beacon Hill-Cyrville - Tim Tierney deserves a second term. He has done a lot as Chair of the Information Technology Sub-Committee. I now have an app for my phone and the city website is much better to navigate (although it's still not seniors friendly). He certainly loves his job. Tim's election in 2010 must have been a huge improvement for the residents in Ward 11.
Ward 17 Capital - Captain Green, David Chernushenko, should be re-elected. David has brought his passion and level headedness to city council and it has served his ward and the city well. Wish he was around when we negotiated the Orgaworld deal. For this reason, I hope he chairs the environment committee next term to help right that ship.
Ward 19 Cumberland - Stephen Blais gets the endorsement for another term. Following his health scare, Stephen has come back and delivered a strong term. Although my memory is fuzzy, I think he was also the councillor to issue the first press release as councillor in 2010. It was about the new transit commission and it came out as he sat at the council table.
Ward 21 Rideau-Goulbourn - Scott Moffat has held many jobs during the last four years but I think his stint as councillor was the best fit. Scott took odd jobs around his ward at local companies to find out what his residents lived through. He used this "research" to guide him in setting priorities for his ward at City Hall. I hope he continues to do this during his next four years as councillor. Innovative!
Ward 23 Kanata South - Allan Hubley is probably the only truly conservative at City Hall and enthusiastically gets my endorsement. Allan has done well by his ward and asked the pertinent questions that I believe has helped the Mayor keep Ottawa fiscally on the right track. This one is for J!
For more endorsements from me, please check out my second OpEd entitled, 'Some more endorsements'.
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